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Volume 13 Number 6 June/July 2001 Blue Line Magazine 12A-4981 Hwy 7 East Suite 254 Markham, ON L3R 1N1

Phone: 905 640-3048 Fax: 905 640-7547 e-mail: blueline@blueline.ca

- Publisher Morley S. Lymburner e-mail: bluelinepublisher@home.com - General Manager Mary Lymburner, M.Ed. e-mail: bluelinesales@home.com - Editor-In-Chief Blair McQuillan e-mail: bluelineeditor@home.com - News Editor Les Linder e-mail: bluelinenews@home.com - Advertising Mary Lymburner Rhonda Shuker Bob Murray - Pre-press Production Del Wall - Contributing Editors Communication Skills Terry Barker Police Leadership Robert Lunney Tactical Firearms Dave Brown Technology Tom Rataj Case Law Gino Arcaro Blue Line Magazine is published monthly, September to June, by Blue Line Magazine Incorporated with a mailing address of: 12A - 4981 Hwy. 7 East, Ste. 254, Markham, Ontario, L3R 1N1. Individual magazines are $3.50 each. Subscriptions are $25.00 per year or $40.00 for 2 years. (Foreign - $50.00 U.S.)

publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording or by any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the publisher. Internet activity is monitored and use or reposting of material on the Internet is restricted. All material submitted for publication becomes the property of Blue Line Magazine unless other arrangements have been made with the publisher. The authors, advisors and Publisher accept no liability whatsoever for any injuries to persons or property resulting from the application or adoption of any of the procedures, tactics or considerations presented in this magazine. Readers are cautioned and advised that articles presented herein are edited and supplied for your personal awareness and should not be used for further action until appropriate advice and guidance is received from a supervisor, Crown Attorney or other person in authority. Established in 1988, Blue Line Magazine is an independent publication designed to inform, entertain, educate and upgrade the skills of those involved in the law enforcement profession. It has no direct control from a law enforcement agency and its opinions and articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any government, police, or law enforcement agency. Blue Line Magazine is a private venture and as such is not funded through any level of government agency, union or association.

Inside This Edition Correspondence

Publisher’s Commentary Will that be coffee or tear-gas in the morning?

Peel Regional Police cyberproof students

OACP 50th Annual Convention

Delivering your message

Police services look ahead to hiring boom

The pig in the python phenomenon

Province to open one-time law school

Vitality 20 Occupational readiness and physical fitness Mounties apologize to community

More than meets the eye The psychological influence of the police uniform

There are no good shifts

Evolution on the street Enforcement key to curbing gangs

Toronto police officers found guilty of misconduct

Hard hitting legislation to deal with gangs and officer protection

Bandwagons Bring back the traffic units

Technology The world-wide-wait is over

Technology

Research targets stress of jury duty

Lessons from Hollywood How to film an action adventure movie

Case Law “Reasonable” to whom?

Blue Line Classified

Summit officers praised by security minister

A successful Response 2001

Back of the Book The right to protest

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The Peel Regional Police, hosts of the 50th Annual Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, are leaders in Internet safety for children. In this issue, Sgt. Doug Wilson explains how the service’s Internet safety program works and what the nation can expect from it in the future. To learn more, turn to page 5. If you plan on attending the 50th Annual Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, turn to page 11 for a complete list of exhibitors and a detailed floor plan. If you are interested in the OACP itself, and its rich history, turn to page 12. Police agencies in Canada are facing some manpower challenges during the next three to five years. How are law enforcement services planning to replace the large number of officers who will soon be retiring? Les Linder, Blue Line Magazine’s News Editor, asked this question and the answers he found are on page 16. Street gangs plague every city in the country. The ages of the members are as varied as the crimes they commit. The approach to combating them has been swift and hard hitting. On page 25 of this issue, Editor Blair McQuillan, files a report on the street gang situation as seen through the eyes of three city police officers. In addition to being a firearms expert, Dave Brown is an avid fan of the cinema. For your enjoyment, Brown has stuck his tongue in his cheek and explained how to write a Hollywood screenplay that would make most law enforcement officers wonder where movie moguls get their information from. For a humourous look at the silver screen, turn to page 36. A case involving a stolen World Series championship ring, a police informant, and a search warrant have all led Gino Arcaro to ask, “What does reasonable mean?” To find out more, go to page 38. The recent Summit of the Americas in Quebec made headlines world-wide. Now, Robert Stevens supplies us with his views on the protests and the underlying issues that beg to be examined. Blue Line Magazine

Although Mr. Stevens correctly identifies that cooperation between police and private security will be to the benefit of all, initiatives aimed at making this a reality seem to have died a slow death. The national conference on police and private security held in Toronto in November 1999, was a good first step. Many of us left that conference optimistic that someone would take a lead role to ensure the process continued. Unfortunately, the ground-breaking I have just finished reading Gino Arcaro’s discussions from that conference appear to have commentary in the May issue of Blue Line (Bring been forgotten, and the recommendations of the back the cadets). I want to say that I fully agree workshop participants seem destined to remain with what he so eloquently said. as simply the final pages of the conference I am without a doubt what he coined as a record. Publisher’s Note: Not only that but we forWBUPO (Wanna-be uniform police officer). In the United States, where police and prigot another 15 companies on the next page of Having finished my first year in college, I have vate security have recognized the importance the guide. Thanks to Joyce for bringing this to firmly set my goals on the uniform police of- of working together, The Bureau of Justice Asour attention. If indeed you wish to get the bag ficer, and at sometime the future, This edition of perhaps Blue Line NewsinWeek hasI been sponsored by: with the International sistance, in cooperation that was pictured you may contact Tetragon will specialize in something else. Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the Tasse at 1-800-387-6542. They will be happy I think that Mr. Arcaro’s suggestion of National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA), and the to help you out. bringing back the rank of cadet is one that should American Society for Industrial Security Now to be fair to everyone else left off the be taken seriously, as it would promote more (ASIS), has initiated “Operation Cooperation”. list of 17 from last month here are the remaining people to look toward uniform policing. It represents a major national initiative to enmarketers of duty bags: Matt Johnston courage partnerships between law enforcement Michaels of Oregon Co. 503 655-7964 Niagara Falls, Ontario and private security professionals. North Sylva Co. 416 242-4867 Perhaps there is something we can learn Pelican Products 780 481-6076 from our neighbours to the south. Pro-Tech Equipment 819 682-2861 Let me start by congratulating Robert Colonel R.J. (Sam) Houston Spike Camp Wilderness Supply 780 461-5700 Stevens on his article “The incredible shrinking Commandant/Chief Executive Officer Strong Holster Co. 978 281-3300 police service” published in your May 2001 Ottawa Division Tactical Advantage 604 931-6351 edition. Canadian Corps of Commissionaires The Current Corporation 604 461-5555 On reading the May issue of Blue Line I turned to page 9, and read your “Publisher’s Note” indicating that the duty bag was manufactured by a BC company no longer in business. This is the duty bag that we, at Tetragon -Tasse have advertised with you for quite some time, and then to add insult to injury, your list did not include our name, even though our name is listed in your February Supply and Services Guide. Joyce McLorn Tetragon-Tasse Mississauga, Ontario

June/July 2001

The Kop Shop 519-539-1155 Tri-Tech Inc. 800 438-7884 True Traffic Safety 604 277-5652 Unifold Shelters Ltd. 905 528-4448 U.S. Cavalry / Cavpro 800 200-9455 Viking Metals & Military Supply 902 456-1284 Visual Planning Corp. 514 739-3116

Blue Line Magazine

Will that be coffee or tear-gas in the morning? by Morley Lymburner A commentary by Sinclair Stevens in an April issue of the Globe & Mail was the catalyst that got me writing this piece. You see Mr. Stevens, columnist and former Conservative politician, voluntarily put himself in harms way at the Quebec Summit. Not just once but twice, and then had the temerity to write about himself as victimized rather than embarrassed. The real question is why Sinclair Stevens returned to the exact same spot the next day. I think he smelled more than gas on that first day. He could smell self-righteous indignation tinged by more than a little political bias. He also smelled, perhaps, a little excitement in an otherwise academic or institutional lifestyle. I don’t necessarily blame him for his comments but I am disappointed in persons who would simply accept his side of the story as the absolute truth. The Quebec City Summit has more political pundit know-it-alls than the city streets had rubbish last April. And many of the comments are even harder to discern from that same rubbish. In brief Sinclair Stevens wrote the officers at the Summit were concerned only with the safety of the delegates and trampling on the rights of others. Of course this is also the message brought out by the anarchists and their dubious supporters. There is no consideration

for protecting the people who live in the city of Quebec nor the officers themselves. The officers too have rights. They have a right to be safe from harm. They have a right to go home to their families uninjured. But the police have a higher duty to protect those who do not always think about the stupid things they do. Now think about this for a minute. If you were the officer on the wrong end of that angry stone and bottle throwing mob would you prefer to be there or having a cup of coffee with your feet up. Quebec City was flooded with outsiders bent upon harm and destruction. The cause meant nothing. Without the training, equipment and the fence the numbers of people hurt - citizens, demonstrators and police - would have been much higher. These same people - I mean the very same people - arrived at Seattle and Vancouver. They were trained, prepared and even equipped to cause trouble and damage. They had no other intent than to violently disrupt anything... the cause is not only completely secondary but totally irrelevant. There is no doubt that people have a right to demonstrate (peacefully). Their opinions can be expressed in a wide range of ways... but not violently... not with destruction... not by hurting others (police officers included). Where there is confrontation law enforce-

ment personnel must be there. If it were any other way the outcome would be grim indeed. Where there is a particular threat then those threatened must be protected. Where there is a threat that is totally unpredictable in size or origin, and is extraordinary in nature, I would expect the police to take extraordinary measures to protect themselves and others. Two items are etched in my mind of the Quebec Summit adventure. One is a placard waved by a faceless person in a sea of hate filled and obscene placards. It read “I like Cheese!” I can only applaud the honesty of that demonstrator. He or she was probably the only person there who felt any honesty in the message they were sending out to the media. It was an English only sign so I don’t know if that was a subtle message or not. The second image that left me with a lasting impression was that of a provincial police officer obviously going home at the conclusion of the Summit. He had his riot helmet in hand and was walking beside several young demonstrators with their placards slung over their shoulders or used as walking sticks. They were conversing and laughing about something when the television camera caught the action. And what should the rest of us do now? Well I think it would be nice to have a cup of coffee and put our feet up for a little while. And that, my friends, is the rest of the story.

For further details go to BlueLinks at www.blueline.ca

June/July June/July2001 2001

Blue Line Magazine

Peel Regional Police cyberproof students by Les Linder The Peel Regional Police have taken on the role of safety educators with a pro-active program to reduce the number of children being victimized on the Internet. Through the development of a regional Internet Safety Committee (ISC), students in Peel are learning about Internet safety as part of their regular school curriculum. The intent of the program is to teach children how to protect themselves from sexual predators and other criminals on the Internet. Police Chief Noel Catney, who spearheaded the program, approached regional council in 1999 to express concerns about sexual predators on the Internet. As a result of the chief’s initiative, the 20-member ISC was created. The committee, consisting of members of the Peel police service, local school boards, regional council and other interested agencies, was formed to breathe life into Catney’s plan. Sgt. Doug Wilson was at Catney’s side throughout the planning and implementation of the program. “We were initially concerned with investigating people who deal child pornography on the Internet,” Wilson said as he recalled the plan’s early days. “However, we found out quickly that it is very expensive to investigate since you need top of the line technology and

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KEYED IN: Sgt. Doug Wilson is hard at work on the service’s Internet safety program. training to get it done. “The chief wanted a pro-active solution, since many investigations are based on children who have already been victimized.” After Catney expanded his mandate and

decided to develop a program to protect children on the Internet, Wilson and the ISC acquired funding from the police services board to produce a brochure initially intended for continued page 9

Blue Line Magazine

parents. The brochures explain how a parent can protect their child from strangers on the Internet with 12 safety tips. Wilson and members from the committee met with the Peel Public District School Board and Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board to present their plan to implement Internet safety as a part of student learning. “The boards expressed a lot of interest in developing a system for Internet safety in their schools,” he said. “We got a writing team from both boards and developed three different programs for the kids.” The three programs were designed to be age-appropriate and made for children ranging from grades three to ten. “Most pedophiles target children between the ages of eight and fifteen,” Wilson pointed out. “We’re trying to cover that age range as much as possible with the program.” An assessment is made at the beginning of the program to determine the level of knowledge the students have about Internet safety. Lessons for younger students begin with learning frequently used Internet terms. The program is divided into five tasks which include the pre-assessment, an 18-minute video titled “Caught in the Web”, a visit to the school from a police officer and a concluding postassessment. During the week-long program, which is integrated with regular classes, students are given quizzes and tests to see how they would react to various scenarios on the Internet. A fictional story is also provided so students can see the correct and incorrect decisions characters made while they were chatting or browsing. The cartoon video used in the program depicts a family who has their home invaded after they placed information about themselves on a website. Wilson says it is used to illustrate to children never to reveal personal information on the Internet. Students are also assigned projects to complete, depending on their age, such as making Internet safety posters, writing and performing skits, or writing an Internet safety research paper. Once the lessons and projects are complete, a police officer attends the school at an assembly to provide a presentation and summary of what the students have learned. The officer also takes part in a question and answer period. “The teachers seem to like the presence of a police officer because it reinforces the importance of the program,” Wilson said. “It makes the whole program more serious to the kids and they will hopefully remember everything they were taught.” A post-assessment is conducted after the police officer meets with students in order to determine how much safety knowledge they have acquired during the course of the program. “We can use that assessment to see what needs to be added or changed to the program to ensure students are getting as much information as possible and remembering it.” Assessments for this year are expected to be completed during the summer. A high school program had also been part of the original project plan, however, due to June/July June/July2001 2001

manpower and logistical reasons, it will not be implemented until September. The program will differ from the elementary school version due to the age of the students. The focus will be on how teenagers can get out of bad situations encountered on the Internet and what the consequences could be for certain decisions and actions. A police officer will also begin the program and provide some of the lessons rather than a teacher to stress the seriousness and importance of the issue immediately.

Wilson believes the program has been successful with younger grades because it is imbedded into many of their classes. “Teachers will use Internet safety terms as a regular part of their class, such as spelling tests, word walls or even essay writing,” Wilson said. “They don’t just take this week-long program and then never refer to Internet safety again; it is on-going and frequently present.” Wilson is hoping to have as many as 107,000 students trained in Internet safety from 315 schools in Peel Region. Approximately 50,000 youth have already taken part in the program. “By the end of this year, we are hoping to invite all municipalities in Ontario and representatives from boards of education and police departments to a one-day seminar to show what we have done and why. Funding for the safety training program comes primarily from public funding and the ISC is constantly looking for corporate donations or any other form of funding. Finding the money, however, had proven somewhat difficult at first, Wilson said.

Out of necessity, the ISC must use terms such as “child pornography” and “pedophile” to convey the seriousness of the message. Unfortunately, Wilson says many organizations do not want their corporate names linked with such terms even though the goal is to protect children. “Some of the smaller organizations have had good foresight though and saw that the program is really beneficial and worthy of sponsoring,” he said. As of April, the program had approximately $60,000 in funding. Even with the proactive approach to combating Internet predators, Wilson believes there is still much that can be done to fight pedophiles on the world wide web. The key difficulty the Internet presents for law enforcement is jurisdiction. A pedophile could be stalking a child on the Internet from another city, province, or even another country, making it challenging for police to catch offenders. A lack of laws in Canada pertaining to crimes committed on the Internet makes matters even more difficult for law enforcement. Wilson is adamant about getting new laws established in Canada to help fight such criminals. While parents can try to prevent their children from being able to communicate with a stranger, or see obscene material on the Internet with help of computer software, Wilson believes many times it is just a hindrance. Content-blocking software could prevent a child from accessing chat rooms or pornographic web sites, but many times they can also inadvertently block legitimate, useful and educational web sites. Wilson said he prefers software that prevents children from sending out any personal information about themselves or their family. He stressed that one of the best ways to ensure a child’s safety is for parents to monitor Internet usage and to use the computer as a family activity. “It’s not realistic to think we can eradicate pedophilia and child pornography on the Internet, but we have to do everything we can to minimize it.”

For more information on the Peel Regional Police Internet safety program contact Sgt. Doug Wilson at (905) 453-2121, ext. 4039.

Internet safety tips for the family • Maintain open lines of communication between parent and child. • Never, under any circumstances, reveal personal information. • Never, agree to meet, in person, an individual met on the Internet. • Teach your child to stop immediately if they see or read anything that upsets them. • Locate the Internet access computer in a high traffic area of the home. • Restrict access to the Internet when there is no supervision available. 9

• Be sensitive to the actions of your child on the Internet including the potential for abduction. • Monitor long distance telephone bills for unknown phone numbers. • Consider drafting a contract with your child for the privilege of using the Internet. • Select a family friendly Internet service provider. • Acquire software to assist in protection from the Internet. • Parents should take a course on use of the Internet or have their child teach them. Make it a family activity. Blue Line Magazine

A brief history of the Peel Regional Police Peel Region is named after Sir Robert Peel, the father of modern policing. His philosophy can be captured in the phrase, “The police and community are one”. That belief is exemplified today by the Peel Regional Police’s community-based policing, with officers working closely with the public to solve local problems and improve the quality of life for all of the people of the region. The very first police officers in what would become Peel Region were actually in place in 1811, when the magistrates of the former Township of Toronto appointed two settlers to the position of constable. It was a common practice to name Ontario counties after noted Parliamentarians of the 19th Century. In 1856, the County of Peel, as we now know it, was formed from a previously larger tract of land that had been purchased from the Mississauga Indians. In 1874 the Town of Brampton was established, and eventually was chosen as the county seat of Peel due to its central location. The first court house and jail were erected there. These buildings have been preserved and restored and now house the Peel County Museum. Peel Regional Police was established on Jan. 1, 1974, upon the creation of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It incorporated the former police services of Mississauga, Port Credit, Streetsville, Brampton, and Chinguacousy.

Led by Chief Noel Catney, who was appointed in April 1997, Peel Regional Police is the second largest municipal police service in Ontario, with 1,328 uniform members and 483 civilian staff. Peel Regional Police polices the cities of Mississauga and Brampton (population 858,000) and serves the 26 million travellers who annually pass through Pearson International Airport. In 1994, Peel Regional Police was accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) the first police service in Ontario to receive this distinction and only the fifth in Canada. The next year, Peel Regional Police won the prestigious Webber Seavey Award for quality in law enforcement sponsored by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and Motorola. The service also captured a Certificate of Merit in 1995 in the National Quality Institute’s (NQI) “Canada Awards of Excellence” program: (Government category), the first government service to be so recognized.

In 1997, Peel Regional Police Crime Prevention Services was honoured by the International Society of Crime Prevention Practitioners (ISCPP) with the Unit of the Year Award. Also in that year, the Ontario Crime Commission recognized the success of the High Enforcement Action Team (Heat) unit. The special unit was setup to reduce the numbers of motor vehicle thefts. In 1998, the American Society of Industrial Security Noel Catney (ASIS) recognized Peel Regional Police for its role in developing Chantel’s Place, an innovative sexual assault and domestic violence suite, at Trillium Health Centre’s Mississauga site. Peel Regional Police is acknowledged as one of Canada’s most progressive police services. A proactive approach to problem-solving, a dedication to professional excellence and a reputation for making the community a better place in which to live and work - these are the hallmarks of Peel Regional Police.

For further details go to BlueLinks at www.blueline.ca

June/July 2001

Blue Line Magazine

50th Annual Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police Conference

June 17 - 20, 2001 Mississauga - Ontario For more information call the conference committee at 905 453-2121, ext.4103.

List Of Exhibitors AIS Prism Training 401/403/405/407/500/502/504/506 Araness (South Beach Management) ................. 415 Atlantic Police & Security Supply ....................... 600 Barefoot Science Inc. ........................................ 414 Beclin Associates Inc. ........................................ 520 Bell Helicopter Textron ........................................ 300 Bell Mobility .............................................. 316 / 320 Blue Line Magazine ............................................ 602 Boston Whaler Inc. ............................................. 620 CACP .............................................................. F13 Canada Law Book ............................................. 614 CGI Information Systems .................................. 608 Child Find Ontario .............................................. 317 Code 3 Public Safety Equipment .............. 609 / 611 Command System Inc. ............................. 212 / 214 Comnetix Computer Systems Inc. ...................... F8 CrimeStoppers ................................................... 410 CVDS Inc. ........................................................ 216 D & R Electronics Co. Ltd. ........................ 409 / 411 Dack’s Shoes Ltd. .............................................. 521 Department of Justice / Firearms ......................... 218 DocuCom Imaging Solutions Inc. ....................... 515 DSM Law Enforcement Products .............. 312 / 314 Dyplex Communications Ltd. ............................. 601 Evin Industries Ltd. ............................................ 202 Excalibur Software ............................................. 116 Fechheimer ........................................................ 307 Federal Signal Corporation .......................... 311/313 Federal Sol Gen Info Retrieval ............................. F1 Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd. 615 / 617 / 619 / 621 Fred Deeley Imports ........................................... 200 General Motors Defense .................................... F12

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Glock Inc. ......................................................... 215 Gordon Contract ................................................ 304 HGI Wireless Inc. ............................................. 510 Hi-Tec Sports (Canada) Ltd. ............................. 101 i2 Inc. ............................................................... 501 Integrated Justice Project ................................... 109 Intergraph Public Safety Canada Ltd. .................. 113 JRG Police Interactive Equipment ..................... 419 Kenwood Electronics Canada Inc. .................... 509 Kinwood Audio Visual Inc. ................................ 503 Lees Motivation Canada .................................... F11 LiveLink Television Network .............................. 100 Lojack Canada .................................................. 616 M.D. Charlton Co. Ltd. .............................. 105 / 107 Martin & Levesque / Blauer Canada ................. 209 Maxxam Analytics Inc. ..................................... 203 Mega Technical Holdings Ltd. .............................. F6 Mercury Marine Ltd. ......................................... 618 Michaels of Oregon Co. ..................................... 111 Moose Rapids Technologies .............................. 412 Nikon Canada Inc. ............................................ 513 Nortel Networks ................................................ 219

North York Accident Support Service ................. 217 NTN Interactive Network Inc. ............................. F3 Ontario Assoc. of Property Standard .................. 310 Ontario Motor Vehicle Ind. ................................. 612 Ontario Police College ....................................... 201 Ontario Police Supplies ..................................... 305 Ontario Police Video Niagara Reg. ..................... 115 Ontario Process Serving ................................... 613 Ontario Provincial Police ..................................... F2 Ontario Sex Offender Registry ........................... 323 Outdoor Outfits Ltd. .............................................. F4 Pacific Safety Products ...................................... 112 Palm Canada ............................................ 406 / 408 Panasonic Canada Inc. ............................. 208 / 210 Pelican Products Inc. (Canada) .......................... 421 Positron Public Safety Systems ......................... 308 PRC Litton Inc. .......................................... 204/206 Printrak International Inc. .................................... 306 Pro Tech Monitoring, Inc. .................................... 413 Pro-Install MultiSystems Inc. ............................. 213 R. Nicholls Distributors Inc. ....................... 106 / 108 RCMP Missing Children’s Registry ................... 319 Rogers AT &T Wireless ....................................... 507 Rotman School of Management .......................... 610 Rycom Inc. ........................................................ 518 Sagem Morpho .................................................. 520 Second Chance Body Armor ............................. 211 Sigarms ............................................................. 104 Sir Sandford Fleming College .............................. F7 Sonitrol Security Systems .................................. 604 Stop Tech. Ltd. ................................................... 301 Strath Craft Ltd. .................................................. 302 Streamlight, Inc. ................................................ F10 Subaru .................................... 416 / 418 / 420 / 422 Telus Mobility ..................................................... 516 Tetragon - Tasse Distributors Inc. ......................... 103 The Police Credit Union Ltd. ............................. 508 Toyota Canada Inc. ................................... 603 / 605 Trilcor Industries ........................................ 205 / 207 TSI Teksavvy Solutions Inc. ............................ 400 Unicom .............................................................. 607 Uniform Uniforms ............................................... 511 VCR Video Warehouse ............................. 117 / 119 Westervelt College .............................................. F5 Whelen Canada ........................................ 402 / 404 Xanalys .............................................................. 417 Xplore Technologies ................................... 512 / 514 Xwave Solutions ....................................... 517 / 519 Zawadzki Armin Stevens Architects ..................... F9 Blue Line Magazine

Ontario Chiefs Association celebrates 50 years The beginning of a police chief’s association in Canada dates back to 1905 with the inception of the Chief Constables’ Association of Canada. During the 1930’s, Ontario police chiefs realized that the specific needs of provincial police were not being met by a national association. The Police Association of Ontario was formed in 1933 to complement and work with the Chief Constables’ Association of Canada in presenting public demands to the Ontario government. In the 1940’s, the Police Association of Ontario’s perspective started to change with more emphasis being placed on police rights and working conditions, as opposed to emphasizing the structure of the police service. By 1951, Ontario police chiefs, identifying a need to re-establish themselves as a recognized police interest-group on a provincial level, founded the Chief Constables’ Association of Ontario. Membership was open to chiefs and deputies of municipal police services. Issues were discussed; positions established and information was shared through committee structure, zone meetings and annual meetings. Membership in the Chief Constables Association of Ontario gradually evolved, opening membership to senior officers, police managers and associate members. The association’s influence was a signifi-

June/July 2001

SIGNED UP: Association executives sign the Police Leadership Program agreement. cant factor in the establishment of the Ontario Police College in 1963, an initiative that enhanced the organization’s prestige and growth. The association was also regularly providing input into legislative changes and improvements including the Police Act. A formal name change to the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) was adopted in 1965. For the first 26 years, the association op-

erated on a voluntary basis with only a partially subsidized recording clerk maintaining and storing records. In 1992, the OACP hired its first executive director, William M. Malpass, and established a corporate headquarters in his home community of Sault Ste Marie. Malpass came to the OACP with extensive business, banking and policing experience gained from serving on the Sault Ste. Marie Police Services Board and as chair of the Ontario Association of Police Service Boards. The OACP office provided a focal point for information, coordination of activities, implementation of policy, research and planning. To help fund the new provincial office, the membership base was expanded from the existing active, associate, life and honourary categories to include three types of affiliates: professional, corporate and not for profit. Membership grew from just under 400 to 600 in a very short period. Highlights from the last 10 years include: • The OACP was licensed to deliver the Constable Selection System in partnership with the Ministry of Solicitor General to improve the quality of candidates for the position of constable in Ontario police services. • Delivered Quality Assurance Program which was utilized in the implementation of Provincial Adequacy Guidelines for policing. • Police Restructuring Guidelines established with partnership, cooperation of policing stakeholders. • Consultations and support for launch of Ontario’s Sex Offender Registry. • Ontario Law Enforcement Torch Run and the Special Olympics are the OACP charity of choice. With the assistance of the police community, the Ontario program has been the top grossing Torch Run project in the world for the last 10 years. • The Highway Help Program is a cooperative venture with the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and private enterprise to produce and deliver emergency highway help signage. • R.I.D.E./Safe Driving project to augment and profile the Ontario government R.I.D.E. Program, with “giveaways” to thank people for not drinking and driving. • The design and launch of a pilot competency based executive development Police Leadership Program with the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. The association has come a long way in 50 years. Today, the OACP has more than 1,000 members, representing municipal police, the Ontario Provincial Police, and the RCMP, as well as associate and affiliate members. Our annual conference attracts more than 300 delegates to not only receive an update on the activities of the association, but to participate in learning seminars and visit the more than 140 exhibitors. The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police is committed to ensure that Ontario is one of the safest places to live in the world. Blue Line Magazine

Delivering your messa ge by John M. Muldoon As senior officers, most of you have seen tremendous change — change in your careers, moving up the ranks, and change in how you deliver your services. But there is one area of change that you probably haven’t given much thought to, namely your local media. Change in the media isn’t just the names of the reporters. Right across this country we are seeing tremendous change in media ownership, especially in the television and newspaper industries. Ownership is changing, affiliations are changing. But that’s not all. The way people get their news is different. The traditional media numbers are shrinking as they contend with competition from the Internet, specialty news channels, multicultural media and most importantly, the lack of time and interest that most busy people give to news items that they don’t give a damn about. And your message may be one of them. The new media “fashion” today is convergence. As police leaders of Canada, this will have many ramifications to you — some positive, some negative. It’s no longer just about what you say or how you say it, it’s becoming increasingly important as to how you deliver your message. Not so long ago it was quite sufficient to simply have a news conference, distribute the information to whomever showed up, and fax out copies of the news release to whatever traditional media you had pre-programmed into your fax machine. Should be enough, right? Wrong. With media convergence and diversification, you must plan the targeting of your message, the form it will take, and how it gets delivered into your strategic communication plan. One of the strengths of today’s corporate giants and organizations is the ability to deliver their message to a diverse audience which will ultimately reach their individual stakeholders. The biggest problem in this area is that most police services still only “pay lip service” to media and public relations. They’re viewed as nice add-ons. What senior police management

• Target your audience. Identify the people in your community whom you want to reach. • Use a multi-discipline approach to delivering your message, e.g., news conferences, personal speeches, Internet, one-on-one interviews with multicultural media, etc. • Re-examine what you’ve done in the past. Does it stand up to today’s media demands. • Build a communication process into your strategic plan, and staff and resource it properly. • Know your media in your community. Know who owns what, and what their editorial policies are. • Regularly survey your community to determine if your message is getting through. Today, senior officers need more than the ability to fight crime and run an efficient police service. They need the ability to deliver their messages, clearly and directly to the people that need to hear it. It’s time you and your senior staff re-examine your public communications for your police service — your message is too important to your community not to be heard. AT THE MIC: Toronto Chief Julian Fantino. need to be doing is integrating communication in all police planning. Try this test. If you were to survey most of your constituents today, would many of them be able to identify and talk about your key messages of your police service? Probably not. “But we have media conferences and advertise during police week... isn’t that enough?” No, not by a long shot. When delivering your message, do you really know who you’re talking to? Convergence appears to be leading to editorial harmonization. The Canadian Radio and Television Commission has no control over newspapers; broadcasters are opting for volunteer codes of conduct between their broadcast interest and their newspapers. We have already read stories by reporters who came from broadcasting and are writing for the local newspaper. So, how do you deliver your message in this confusing environment? Here are a few points to consider: • Be clear and succinct with your organization’s message.

John M. Muldoon, APR, is president and senior public relations counsel, Bedford Communications International, and was the former director, public affairs, Peel Regional Police. He can be contacted at (905) 8498279 or e-mail: bedford@home.com.

Nova Scotia gets $1 million in funds Fighting crime in Nova Scotia became easier following the federal government’s move to provide more than $1 million for safer communities. Justice Minister Anne McLellan anMcLellan nounced the year’s funding from the National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention initiatives in April. “These projects demonstrate the skills and leadership in communities throughout Nova Scotia to create efficient and innovative approaches to community safety and health,” McLellan was quoted as saying. The Genuine Progress Index Atlantic, a non-profit research and community development group, will receive $255,000 over three years for its project Creating a Peaceful and Secure Society. The three-phase project will collect information about crime, make proposals to deal with crime’s causes and consequences, and develop a handbook, video and other educational material. The provincial Justice Department’s victims services division will also receive $175,000 for educational material and improved services for crime victims over the next five years.

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June/July 2001

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Police dog handlers create association To enhance and improve training on an ongoing basis, police canine detachments throughout the province of Quebec have joined to form a new police dog handlers association. The Association Des Maitres De Chiens Policiers du Quebec/Quebec Police Dog Handlers Association, is a nonprofit organization founded in October 2000. It currently has 40 members from such detachments as the Quebec Provincial Police, Canada Customs, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Correctional Services Canada, Conservation Quebec and the police forces of Montreal, Laval, Quebec City and Blainville. The organization is funded by its own dues and promotional efforts. The first president of the Quebec association is Steve Carrier, who works with the Quebec city police. He feels that the purpose of the Quebec Police Dog Handlers Association is to facilitate the role of other police organizations that would like to establish police dog units and to become more effective in training and handling police service dogs. The association wishes to establish working standards for training to create continuity in the levels of police dog effectiveness in the province. Carrier also feels that it is the association’s goal to advise the public as to how they can benefit from having police service dogs in their community. Police service dogs play an important role in police work such as finding lost persons, tracking criminals, and the search and location of guns and illegal drugs. The Association Des Maitres De Chiens Policiers Du Quebec/Quebec Police Dog Handlers Association will be holding its first Symposium for the public on June 16 and 17, at the Laval Coliseum in Laval, Que.. The symposium will show the public how the Quebec police dogs continue to benefit law enforcement agencies through exhibits, answering citizens’ questions and by providing working demonstrations. Quebec is the last province to form a dog handlers association in Canada. All other provinces are established with the Canadian Police Canine Association and Ontario is affiliated with the United States Police Canine Association. For more information on the Quebec Police Dog Handlers Association or its June Symposium, write to 3225 Boul. St. Martin, Est, Duvernay, Laval, Quebec H7E 4Y5.

New order of merit to honour police Canadians now have a way to for“It will be a visible and lasting way for mally recognize their community’s all of us to celebrate the accomplishunsung heroes in policing with a new ments of those who make our streets national honour. and our homes safer.” “The new Order of Merit of the MacAulay said he was pleased Police Forces will recognize the comwith the announcement by Adrienne mitment of the people who devote their Clarkson, the governor general of lives to public safety,” federal SoliciCanada, to create an Order of Merit of tor General Lawrence MacAulay said the Police Forces. MacAulay in March during his opening remarks The governor general will make the to the Canadian Police Association’s annual ex- first presentations of the honour at a ceremony ecutive board meeting and legislative conference. later this year.

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Police services look ahead to hiring boom by Les Linder Police agencies across Canada could be facing a difficult challenge to compensate for an aging workforce and an increasing number of retiring officers. How difficult the challenge will be is going to depend on how well various forces have prepared to handle the influx of retirements, said Carl Schier, the president of the Winnipeg Police Association. With baby boomers coming closer to retirement age, agencies are facing the loss of a significant number of experienced officers from their ranks over the next five years. “(Winnipeg) is expecting as much as a 50 per cent increase in the number of officers retiring this year,” Schier said. “I think other police services in the country are expecting a similar figure, or possibly a bit lower.” The immediate problem for most agencies will be increasing their number of street officers once the number of personnel is lowered by retirements. Schier says Winnipeg is going to face hard times within the next five years because the retirements will cause the service to dramatically reassess its deployment of officers. “We’re going to have to look at areas where we can withdraw services while making sure we are able to meet emergency needs,” he said. A key issue of concern for the Winnipeg force is that there are not as many officers being

June/July 2001

FRESH FACES: Services need new officers. hired as there are retiring. Approximately 60 to 70 members are expected to retire from the city’s agency this year, whereas the norm would be about 40 retirees, Schier pointed out. “This is going to have a real impact on our service. We’ve lost the numbers we need for community service roles, crime prevention and community policing initiatives.” He warned that vacancies are going to arise in crime divisions, investigative units and other supplemental specialty units. General patrol units are already at minimum strength levels.

While the service will likely continue to say they are doing a great job, Schier says it is in fact the members who are doing a great job by being flexible, stretching themselves to their limits and taking on more work. “By working with the actuary that also works the pension plan for Winnipeg officers, we were able to see that the shortage of officers was definitely going to happen and we advised the service the problem was coming fast,” he said. Schier said the city was considering to expand hiring in 1999 to help compensate for the possible shortage. However, the city and service chose to delay some of the hiring, which pushed back recruit classes and resulted in a shortage of new officers. Schier believes the problems being faced by the agency today are a direct result of the delay. In an attempt to compensate for the shortage, Winnipeg has recently been trying to raise the recruitment levels. Getting the number of recruits up, however, has not proven to be an easy task. Running additional training classes has become difficult due to restrictions in class sizes at training facilities. According to Schier, class sizes at the facilities have remained static for the most part and were not expanded sufficiently in anticipation for the needed increase of recruits. The Winnipeg agency is also suffering from a shortage of training officers available to manage any new recruits. Remedying the problem would

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involve pulling officers from other areas and making them into training officers, thereby limiting street strength even further. Other options are also being examined by the union and city to provide the force with an opportunity to catch up to the needed number of officers. “We’ve been encouraging the service to make it lucrative for the officers to stay longer and postpone retirement. A bargaining process with the city is already underway to try to find a way to accomplish that.” Schier says one large problem is there are not enough incentives for veteran officers to remain with Winnipeg. By offering more to members, he hopes officers will feel more inclined to remain longer and not retire or switch to a different agency. “Until we make the benefits as comparable with other services, if not better, I think (Winnipeg) will continue to face an increasing attrition rate,” he warned. The city predicts it will need approximately 1,180 officers within the next five years. While Schier believes this is a realistic figure, he is unsure whether those numbers can be sustained without the new incentives to stay with the force. Although the problem of having a large amount of experienced officers leaving the force is of concern to members of any agency, Schier believes the loss of experience can be recovered quickly. “Experience doesn’t necessarily come with years,” he said. “It comes with the amount of work officers are put under. While the majority of our officers will be younger in the next few years, they will be gaining experience rapidly because they will be subjected to a greater volume of work.” Schier maintains he is not trying to be all “doom and gloom”, but is adamant that the retirement issue needs to be officially recognized by all police forces and make changes to compensate for the problem. “About the only people on top of this matter are the RCMP,” Schier said. “They have recognized the need to pay officers better and provide incentives through additional ranks and promotions. “They realize the force will get through the next five difficult years and cycle back to normal once the mass retirements are done with.” RCMP Sgt. Paul Marsh confirmed Schier’s sentiments regarding the Mounties. Marsh said while compensating for the aging workforce is a challenge, the agency is not anticipating a critical shortage thanks to solid planning. The RCMP is presently training the maximum number of cadets at 1,200 each year for approximately five years, Marsh said. The Depot Division in Regina is currently training cadets at near-capacity. The force has 10 to 12 times the number of applicants versus the number of cadet openings each year. Attracting qualified candidates has not been a concern for Mounties, nor does Marsh believe it will be in the future. However, the loss June/July June/July2001 2001

of corporate and practical on-thejob knowledge is of concern and will be much harder to replace than the personnel, he said. Marsh cautioned that the loss of experienced police officers should not overshadow the loss of public servants and civilian members also retiring, some of which have over 30 years of experience. “These people carry around a lot of invaluable job-related experience in their heads,” he said. “This experience leaves the building when they retire over the next few years.” Marsh stressed that corners will not be cut to help compensate for the loss of experience. Members will not be put out on the street until full training is complete. Additionally, mentoring will continue to be provided to help new constables learn the ropes from seasoned members. While the RCMP planned ahead for the impending shortage by increasing cadet training, many municipal police services have been severely limited in how much they can increase training programs. Dorian Folo with the human resources unit at the Toronto Police Service says the force has experienced a bit of pressure because of limits to how many people can be trained at a given time. “The Ontario Police College can take only a certain amount of people each year, which is the biggest restriction for us,” Folo said. “If we wanted to drastically increase the space available for training more officers, it simply isn’t there right now.” Despite the lack of room for more cadets, Folo doesn’t believe Toronto will face any significant difficulties or anything similar to what Winnipeg may face. “Although we have an increase in the number of retirements as well, it is nowhere near what Winnipeg is expecting for their own force.” Folo said the service has estimated that 300 members will leave the force due to retirement, attrition, termination or other factors. Last year approximately 275 members left the force. Folo insists the service will not suffer any serious problems due to the loss of officers and that the force is continuing to recruit as much as possible. However, documents acquired from the Toronto Police Service Human Resources Unit shows the number of recruits expected for 2001 dropped to 204 from 465 last year. The service’s actual strength also dropped from 5,370 in 2000 to 5,274 this year and is projected to remain at that level until 2005. While Toronto and other municipalities may continue to insist they will manage fine with the loss of officers, Schier believes that few agencies actually will handle the next five years smoothly. “They don’t want to admit what is happening,” Schier said. “The force will put on a stone face and say they will manage, because nobody wants to be seen as not having planned for the shortage. “The fact is unless they prepared well beforehand, they won’t manage.” For further details go to BlueLinks at www.blueline.ca

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The pig in the python phenomenon by Morley Lymburner “The pig in the python” syndrome is well known to demographers when it comes to North American population trends. They have used this image of a pig swallowed whole by a large python snake to describe the massive displacement viewed on demographic charts created by the “baby boomer” generation as they pass through different stages of life. This image represents the important fact that the boomer generation is huge compared to

the generation before and after and that for almost all of their lives have had the most impact on life in North America.

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June/July 2001

The baby boom generation are those people born between 1945 to around 1960. It was a result of the post Second World War increase in births as a result of returning war veterans settling down to careers and family life. After the uncertainties and stress of a protracted and bloody war domestic bliss resulted in an unprecedented enthusiasm for making babies in record numbers. With regard to labour issues William Sterling and Stephen Waite’s book Boomernomics points out some interesting factors. “As a huge crowd of boomers shed their bell-bottoms and entered the labour market in the 1970’s, it quickly became a buyer’s market for entrylevel workers and remained so for several decades. “Competing against each other for jobs, the boomers not only depressed wages for several decades, they also contributed to the nation’s productivity slump by reducing the incentive for firms to make substantial capital investments. Why invest in labour saving machinery when labour is plentiful and cheap? “The data is striking: From 1970 to 1989, real per capita income grew at an anaemic 2.2 per cent per year. That compared to robust growth of 4.0 per cent in the 1960’s... Just as the boomers had crowded each other in schools, they crowded each other in the labour markets, depressing each other’s wages in the process.” We are now faced with the realities of a large number of people leaving the labour market and the corporate community is scrambling for strategies to lessen the impact on themselves in the face of this reality. In the police community the strategies have been less creative than simply reactionary. One senior police manager pointed out the realities of training officers just to see them leave for other agencies the day after graduation. Others pointed to outdated policies that prevent them from hiring back retiring officers as civilian employees. “They call it double-dipping on pensions, but how else are we going to retain people when we have to compete with their pensions?” the officer asks. As another manager points out, “When these members get to pension age they quickly figure out that they are subsidizing their own paychecks. I mean they can take their pension and work at another job they enjoy twice as much and only pays half as much and still come out ahead when reporting to Revenue Canada. How do we compete against that factor alone?” When one looks at that “pig” passing through the “python” relief is not in sight for police services for another five to ten years. For more information on Boomernomics by William P.Sterling and Stephen R. Waite go to www.boomernomics.net. Blue Line Magazine

Territory to open one-time law school The province of Nunavut is set to open its own law school this fall in an effort to develop Inuit leadership and expertise. The application deadline for the Akitsiraq Law School, a one-time, four-year program was March 30. Taught through the University of Victoria, Akitsiraq graduates will receive a complete education, with special emphasis on northern concerns such as environmental law, resource law and law of the sea. There will be just one graduating class and no new applications will be accepted. The school is only open to Inuit. “Everybody’s going to be expecting a lot from this group,” 28-year-old Naomi Wilman was quoted as saying. Wilman hopes she will be one of the 15 to 20 applicants who are selected to the law school. “If I were to be chosen, not only would I be excited about my own education, it’s for a lot of other people too,” she was quoted as saying. Wilman said a number of the young offenders she works with for the Nunavut Justice Department currently have no one to explain the

court process to them. She said many youth return to the correctional centre without any idea as to what took place in court. In September 2005, after their graduation, the new lawyers will enter positions with the Nunavut justice system, territorial government and aboriginal organizations. “This is an attempt, not only to establish an institution, but to graduate a group of lawyers who can fill a role in the establishment of this territory,” Andre Berzins, the coordinator of Akitsiraq, was quoted as saying. Paul Okalik, the territorial premier, is the only Inuit lawyer in the province. Okalik received his training in Ottawa. “When I was down south, I had to go scrounging around looking for a job,” he was quoted as saying. The shortage of lawyers in Nunavut can be a burden, Okalik said. Sometimes legal officials

RCMP joins PhoneBusters The RCMP has a new ally in the fight against telemarketing scams and Internet related fraud. PhoneBusters, an operation supported by the Ontario Provincial Police, will provide Canadian and American victims with a centre of complaint for everything from web-based deceptive marketing to identity theft. Det. Staff Sgt. Barry Elliot, a 26-year veteran with the OPP, is the founder of the eightyear-old PhoneBusters. Elliot said it is a natural extension to use the same infrastructure used against telemarketing fraud to combat internet fraud. He said the RCMP approached PhoneBusters because of the success it had in fighting telemarketing fraud. The organization is staffed by 10 full-time call-takers, part-time workers and two OPP officers. Approximately 100 calls are handled each day, many of which are from U.S. citizens complaining about Canadian-based telemarketing scams. PhoneBusters gathers evidence from the complaints and turns the information over to the proper authorities. Growth in Internet usage is exposing more people to fraud and a central complaints clearing house was needed to help deal with the problem, Elliot said. He pointed out that identity theft has become a serious problem as well because of the ease with which information about a person can be collected through the Internet. June/July June/July2001 2001

“We know it’s a growing problem in the United States,” Elliot was quoted as saying. “Nobody knows how large of a problem it is in Canada.” Canadians lost $9.6 million in 1998 to telemarketing fraud. That number dropped to a $1.7 million loss in 2000. Michael Geist, a law professor at University of Ottawa, believes law enforcement agencies in Canada are moving in the right direction with their efforts. “There’s a realization that law enforcement can’t do this alone, and the best way to get the public involved is to get them educated, and to do that you need these kinds of clearing houses,” Geist was quoted as saying.

from Ottawa have to be hired just to close real estate deals. University of Victoria law professor Don Galloway is optimistic about the program. “I think we are grooming public lawyers,” he was quoted as saying. “Most of the jobs that will be available will be in public law.” Galloway added that the Akitsiraq graduates may even become the next generation of Inuit leaders. “Legal argument and political argument are cousins, if not brother and sister,” he was quoted as saying. The government of Nunavut will cover about one-third of the four-year, $4 million program. Government agencies and aboriginal organizations will sponsor the students. In turn, they must agree to work for their sponsor when classes are not in session and for a period of time after graduation that has yet to be determined.

Registry now operational Ontario’s new sex offender registry is now in operation. The registry, which was launched in April and dubbed Christopher’s law, was created following recommendations from an inquest into the 1988 abduction and murder of Christopher Stephenson. The 11-year-old boy was abducted from a mall at knife-point, sexually assaulted and murdered by a repeat sex-offender. Under registry rules, each offender has a file containing a current address, phone numbers, a physical description and aliases, as well as a list of past offences. Currently, a national registry has not been established that would allow a Canada-wide search to occur. The federal government has refused to set up such a registry on the basis that the Canadian Police Information Centre provides the same function.

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Occupational readiness and physical fitness by Peter Shipley “Have you seen the new guys? Yeah. What’s going on, don’t they do PT anymore at the academy?!” This quote was taken from the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Associate magazine. This concern of low fitness standards of recruits entering into the profession seems to be the main topic of discussion no matter where I am and no matter who I am delivering a presentation to. The question I most often receive tends to be, “Why did they change the old test because the new one doesn’t appear to be working? We’re hiring people who are fat and out of shape.” Although physical agility tests have been around for some time, it was Doug Farenholtz who developed one of the first job related tests called the POPAT (Peace Officers Physical Abilities Test ). The RCMP took the POPAT and modified its design and came up with the PARE (Physical Ability Readiness Evaluation) test for all of their officers across Canada. In Ontario, we developed the PREP (Physical Readiness Evaluation for Police). These tests were developed to eliminate those individuals who could not meet the physical demands that were identified and demonstrated by serving officers. Any tests used to eliminate people from employment must be able to be defended as a bona fide occupational requirement. This was one of the reasons why the test was changed. It is critically important that applicants be able to meet the physical demands of the position of constable. How we go about defining this is the most critical factor. There are physiological, equitable, and legal issues relating to employment in this province and this country that we have to follow. The days are gone where you hire the biggest, meanest applicants, if that ever was the case. A comprehensive, standardized process helps to ensure that equity exists in all of our hiring practices.

“ I want two jumbo burgers with cheese and bacon, large fries with gravy, onion rings, apple pie, chocolate sundae . . . . . . oh yea and a diet coke! ” June/July 2001

STAYING IN SHAPE: On the stairmaster. It must be kept in mind that a physical abilities test and a physical fitness evaluation are two different types of tests. One is abilities based, the other is performance based. The difficulty in applying fitness standards to a job function, is in the criteria for elimination. Any kind of test must be discriminating not discriminatory. The issue is how many push-ups or abdominal curl-ups is good enough to become a police officer? These kind of job related tests have replaced the ‘old fitness pin’ tests that include the push-ups, curl-ups, flexibility and a cardiovascular test (usually the 2.4 km run). The Supreme Court of Canada decision on Meiorin (File No: 26274, [1999] S.C.J. No.46), has provided us with some guidance. The complainant was a British Columbia forest firefighter who was fired after failing to meet the fitness run time of 11 minutes for the 1.5 mile run. The complainant had been a forest firefighter for three years prior to the agency implementing mandatory fitness testing. Although I am not a lawyer, the decision did not say that the 1.5 mile run was at fault, what was at fault was that the employer did not demonstrate that the 11 minute time period was a requirement to do the job. The standards must come from those officers in the field who perform the job in a safe and effective manner. The next issue is, how do we quantify safe and effective? As the President of the Police Fitness Personnel of Ontario, I represent police fitness personnel, both uniform and civilian, across the province. Recently during our annual general meeting, there was open discussion about the perceived levels of fitness of new recruits. Many had questions regarding the use of the PREP versus the ‘pin test’ that was used in the past. Recruiters who test have reported out of 20 who passed the PREP, nine failed to achieve 75 per cent (the old graduation standard from the Ontario Police College prior to January 1999). Another department representative quoted 18 out of 20 failed the pin test. My own experience in the Ontario Provincial Police has been fairly consistent in that of 20

60 recruits who passed the PREP then reported to the academy, 20 failed to meet the standard of 75 per cent. However once these recruits have three months of training, almost all can meet the 75 per cent score. The typical Canadian response to any kind of test is “What do I need to pass?”. This statement came from one of my professors at the University of Toronto, almost 20 years ago, yet still rings true today. It is very rare indeed that I am asked, “What do I need to get perfect?” This appears to be a fundamental flaw we have in doing just enough to get by. The danger in setting the standard low at the beginning is, where will we be in five years? Will we have higher WISB claims? Will there be more short term sick credits used by each employee? Research at the OPP Academy has indicated that physically fit individuals use, on average 4.24 less sick days than the ‘average’ officer. Many of us in our late 30’s to early 50’s grew up with the Participaction movement in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Many can still remember, the disbelief, that the average 30-year-old Canadian could be in the same physical condition as a 60-year-old Swede. Nonsense, or so we thought. A recent article in the Toronto Star’s editorial showed that six out of ten Canadians wanted more of their tax dollars used to encourage physical fitness. They were very clear about how the money should be used too; to get ordinary citizens off the couch, not to produce Olympic medallists. So what did the federal government do? They eliminated the 30-year Participaction program. The fact is that the current progressive generation, (I won’t use Gen-Xers), have been raised in a world of wealth, computers, fast food and inactivity. James Reese PhD, and retired FBI agent, reports in the United States; “We are consuming more poultry than ever, however red meat consumption is also higher. We are eating more fish, yet consume seven times more cheese. “Gym classes taken by high school students dropped from 42 per cent in 1991 to 27 per cent in 1997 and children (2-17) watched an average of 4.4 hours of television per day. Add to this that 59 per cent of Americans are moderately or morbidly overweight and 25 per cent of American children are moderately or morbidly overweight.” Is the real issue whether or not the standards have been lowered, or that maybe we should re-evaluate our entire approach and give holistic wellness and physical training programs a higher importance than it has currently? Clearly, if our most important resource is our people, why do we continually invest in technology and academia at the expense of the only vehicle we have to produce - our physical body? Articles for this column are supplied by members of the Police Fitness Personnel of Ontario. For more information on the PFPO contact Peter Shipley at (705) 329-7546. Blue Line Magazine

Mounties apologize to community The RCMP made an unprecedented public apology in April to a small New Brunswick community. About 100 people gathered in the Saint-Sauveur community hall to hear the Mounties take the blame for a May 1997 incident in which a police riot squad traumatized citizens protesting proposed school closings. “To the people of Saint-Sauveur, the RCMP wishes to say it’s sorry for not having responded to these occurrences in a more appropriate manner,” Insp. Kevin Vickers, the district manager for northeastern New Brunswick, said in a prepared statement. “Regrettably, mistakes were made and we’ve learned from this experience.” Vickers explained that the RCMP has changed the way it handles similar incidents as a result of the Saint-Sauveur protest. He said the police service now tries to resolve conflicts through mediation, instead of sending in riot troops. Therese Albert, who led the committee that spearheaded the protests against a provincial government plan to shut down the Saint-Sauveur school, along with another school in SaintSimon, said she believes the apology is too little, too late. Albert said the community was taken hostage when police stationed tactical troops in the school and blocked off the road to and from the village. She added that she saw how heavily armed the officers were and feared for people’s lives. Dozens of people in the two communities were arrested during the protests, but no one was ever charged. RCMP officers involved in the incident did not follow regular procedure and failed to notify people of their rights or file arrest reports. A number of people were attacked and bitten by police dogs, while others were injured by flying tear gas canisters, the tear gas itself, or rough handling by some officers. “I still have so many questions I’d like answered,” Albert was quoted as saying. “But the people I want to hear an apology from, the actual officers who were there and who gave the orders, we’re not going to hear from them. But they are the ones who understand what happened and they are the ones who need to excuse themselves.” Most of the Mounties involved in the incident have transferred to other provinces. Many residents who attended the community meeting were upset by the fact that no officer was disciplined or reprimanded. “Some of the officers involved, especially those who gave the orders, should have been punished,” Fernand Basque, a Saint-Sauveur resident, was quoted as saying. “They gave us a real hard time, and, no, I’m not ready to forgive them.” The RCMP will send letters of apology to a number of the people caught up in the incident. The Commission For Public Complaints Against The RCMP issued a report in March on the police action and condemned the Mounties for their forceful response to what was an attempt by concerned parents to prevent their kids’ schools from being closed. Provincial officials put a halt to the plans to June/July June/July2001 2001

close the two local schools following the demonstrations. Albert said she was surprised to see the riot squad marching through the community. The protesters had been marching along a main highway, which they partially blocked. The Mounties said they believed the intensity of the protests would increase, adding that they had heard rumours that violent actions were planned by some demonstrators. The chair of the public complaints commission, Shirley Heafey, made 31 recommendations to the RCMP to improve policies and procedures governing demonstrations. The recommendations included better training for the use of police dogs, improved communications with the community, and ensuring that officers in charge of operations have the necessary skills and training to make crowd control related decisions tactfully. Vickers said the RCMP has learned from the Saint-Sauveur incident. He used demonstrations near Burnt Church, N.B., last summer as an example. Members of the Mi’kmaq reserve blocked off part of a major highway to protest the federal government’s handling of the lobster fishing rights dispute. RCMP officers observed the situation, and eventually the natives removed the barricades themselves. No special unit or tactical team was called in. For further details go to BlueLinks at www.blueline.ca

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Blue Line Magazine

More than meets the eye The psychological influence of the police uniform

by Richard R. Johnson

The Social Significance Of Clothing

Most people can identify law enforcement officers by their official police uniform. When citizens on the street need help, they scan the crowd looking for the distinct uniform of a police officer. Normally, drivers who arrive at an intersection and find someone in a police uniform directing traffic, they willingly submit to that person’s hand directions. Criminals, usually curb their unlawful behaviour when they spot a uniformed officer. Parents, teach their children to respect and trust a person in police attire. In fact, police academy recruits relish the day they can finally wear their official uniforms. The crisp uniform of the police officer conveys power and authority. When officers put on their uniforms, citizens believe they embody stereotypes about all police officers. Research suggests that clothing has a powerful impact on how people perceive each other. The police officer’s uniform represents a tradition as old as the field of law. In fact, dark blue was the chosen colour of early British police officers to differentiate them from the British military, who wore red and white uniforms. Today, most law enforcement agencies select uniforms generally dark in colour with a somewhat paramilitary appearance. Agencies prefer dark colours for their ease in cleaning and their ability to help conceal the wearer in tactical situations. However, why do most agencies insist patrol officers dress in a uniform? Perhaps the uniform psychologically influences the public’s perception of officers.

Individuals seek clues about others from their appearance. Clothing provides one powerful clue to an individual’s background and serves as a mental shortcut to identify a person’s sex, status, group membership, legitimacy, authority and occupation. Clothing and physical appearance are important in the initial development of social relationships. Studies have revealed that physical appearance, including clothing, remains the factor used most often in developing the first impression of someone and has an even greater effect than personality. In early social interactions, clothing has a significant psychological influence on people’s perceptions. In one study, personnel administrators rated the competency of similar female job applicants. They consistently rated the women in conservative, slightly masculine attire as the most competent. In another experiment, both high school students and teachers rated pictures of female athletes dressed either in uniforms or casual clothes. Participants perceived athletes in uniform as being more professional, possessing higher ability and having more “team spirit.” Similarly, other research revealed that both students and teachers rated photos of students dressed in private school type uniforms as having higher scholastic ability. The uniform worn by a police officer elicits stereotypes about that person’s status, authority, attitudes and motivations. The police uniform identifies a person with powers to arrest and use force and establishes

order and conformity within the ranks of those who wear it by suppressing individuality. The police uniform can have extraordinary psychological and physical impact. Depending on the background of the citizen, the police uniform can elicit emotions ranging from pride and respect to fear and anger.

The Power Of The Police Uniform Research has supported suggestions about the police uniform’s power and authority. In one study, individuals ranked 25 different occupational uniforms by several categories of feeling. The test subjects consistently ranked the police uniform as the one most likely to include feelings of safety. In another experiment, participants consistently rated models as more competent, reliable, intelligent and helpful when pictured in a police uniform rather than in casual clothes. When an individual wearing a police-style uniform stood on a sidewalk near a corner, drivers committed fewer turn violations at that intersection. This occurred even though the uniform did not represent a real police department in the area and the individual did not display a badge or weapon. In one experiment, a researcher randomly approached pedestrians on a city street and ordered them to either pick up a paper bag, give a dime to another person, or step back from a bus stop. The researcher alternately wore casual clothes, a milk delivery uniform or a policestyle uniform. Only the last resulted in a high rate of cooperation from citizens. Moreover,

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obedience to the police-style uniform usually continued even after the researcher walked away and did not watch to ensure compliance.

To Hat Or Not To Hat Although the police uniform in general suggests the authority of the wearer, details about a police officer’s uniform, such as the style of hat, or the tailoring, can influence the level of authority emanating from the officer. Study participants in one experiment evaluated photographs of uniformed male and female police officers wearing nine different styles of headgear, including no hat at all. Even though psychological tests showed the participants perceived the officers to have authority under all of the circumstances, the type of hat varied the level of authority attributed to the officer. The traditional forage cap and Stetson conveyed more authority than the baseball cap or no hat at all. Many studies have addressed the influence of eliminating the paramilitary style of the police uniform. In one experiment students viewed black and white drawings of three styles of police uniforms. Two of the uniforms represented a traditional paramilitary style, but lacked a duty belt or weapons. The third, a non-traditional uniform, consisted of a sport coat or blazer, over slacks and a shirt and tie. Although students ranked all three uniforms similarly for objectivity and trust-worthiness, the blazer-style uniform ranked slightly higher for professionalism. However, a similar experiment using colour photos, found the traditional paramilitary style uniforms ranked as more honest, goof, helpful and competent than the blazer uniform. In 1969, the Menlo Park, California, police department discontinued their traditional navy blue, paramilitary-style uniforms and adopted a non-traditional uniform hoping to improve police-community relations. The new, non-traditional uniform consisted of a forest green blazer, black slacks, a white shirt and black tie. Officers displayed their badges on the blazer and concealed their weapons under their coat. When other agencies heard about Menlo Park’s attempt more than 400 other police departments in the U.S. followed suit (excuse the pun). In 1977, after using the blazer-style uniform for eight years, the Menlo Park Police Department determined that it did not command respect; therefore they returned to a traditional, paramilitary style uniform. During the four years after the Menlo Park police returned to a traditional uniform, the number of assaults on their officers dropped steadily. Experiments with hats and the style of police uniform suggest changes in the design of a police uniform can have an adverse effect on the perceived authority, power and ability to control.

The Influence Of Colour Many police departments wear darker colours. Just as with the style of the police uni-

form, the colour of the uniform also has meaning. Psychological tests have found individuals associate colours with specific moods. For example, people usually associate red with excitement and stimulation. Tests have also found individuals associate the colour blue with feelings of security and comfort and the colour black with power and strength. Cultural influences did not affect their results, which did not vary with the race of the students. Colour has a considerable impact on clothing and perceptions of the wearer. When people rated pictures of models for attractiveness, clothing colour appeared the most common determinant. Individuals perceived job applicants wearing dark business suits as more powerful and competent than those who wore lighter coloured suits.

Safety Concerns In addition to colour, the condition of a police officer’s uniform and equipment can have an impact on the officer’s safety. Interviews with prison inmates who have murdered police officers indicate that the killers often visually “sized up” the officer before deciding to use violence. If the officer looked or acted “unprofessional” in the assailant’s eyes. then the assailant felt capable of successfully resisting the officer. A dirty or wrinkled uniform or a badly worn duty belt may convey to suspects that officers have complacent attitudes about their job. This complacency can invite violence.

Conclusions The uniform of a police officer conveys the power and authority of the person wearing it. Research proves clothing, including the police uniform, has a powerful psychological impact. When individuals come into contact with each other, they subconsciously search for clues about the other person to understand the context of the encounter. The police uniform represents a powerfuI clue to the wearer’s authority, capability and status. Additionally, research has revealed the uniform has a subconscious psychological influence on people, based on the person’s preconceived feelings about police officers. Citizens in the presence of a person in a police uniform cooperate more and curb their illegal or deviant behaviours. Selecting a uniform style, following regulations on properly wearing the uniform, maintaining uniforms, and designing policies to address when officers may wear plainclothes, should command serious attention from department managers. After all, the uniform stands as one of the most important visual representations of the law enforcement profession. Richard R. Johnson, formerly an Indiana State Trooper and military police officer, is an investigator with the Kane County, Illinois State’s Attorney Office and criminal justice professor at Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove Illinois. This article was reprinted with permission from the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. For further details go to BlueLinks at www.blueline.ca

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There are no good shifts, professor says by Les Linder

were at the beginning of the shift. Reports get harder to do and they become more prone to make mistakes.” Errors made in police reports can easily lead to logistical nightmares and lost manpower hours as the problem is corrected. This also results in increased operating costs, he added. Despite the risk of lost productivity by tired employees, people still tend to think of losing sleep as an unimportant issue, Kryger said with concern. “Ask yourself this question: If we believe it is not a good idea for the pilot flying our airplane to be sleep deprived after long shifts, is it a good idea for a police officer who may have to fire a weapon to be in this state as well? “Are we putting officers and the public at risk? I

Law enforcement officers could be plagued with medical problems and lower productivity levels due to poor shift work schedules, according to a professor of medicine at the University of Manitoba. Meir Kryger believes many people in law enforcement suffer from sleep loss caused by shift work. This in turn, can cause morale and social problems. Kryger, who has been observing shift work related problems including sleep apnia and movement disorders for 20 years, says shift workers frequently suffer sleeping difficulties that get brushed aside and ignored. The primary problem with working shifts is that the shift worker is out of SHIFTING GEARS: Changing schedules can cause a great deal of stress. sync with the rest of the think so.” world. This can create social and medical prob- be alert for work. Most people who approach Kryger for Sleep deprivation and shift work can also lems as the body tries to switch from one body treatment are those who are constantly tired cause more than just physical harm. clock to another, Kryger pointed out. Seeing correctional and police officers go “It is easier to do shifts when you are during work hours and are having difficulty stayyounger, but becomes much harder as you get ing awake. Police officers, corrections officers on a disability leave because of stress caused older because it becomes incredibly hard to switch and security personnel frequently approach him by shift work is not an uncommon sight for Kryger. back to normal sleep hours,” Kryger said. “Many for help, he said. Kryger has recently been treating a correc“As you get older, maintaining the work times, a person will simply not even be able to properly switch back to day shifts and be stuck tional officer who fell asleep on the job while in schedule on shift work becomes much more difthe vicinity of several dangerous convicts. ficult and can create a lot of stress as the person suffering fatigue for a long time to come.” “(The corrections officer) was surrounded struggles to keep up. Workers become frustrated Shift workers also tend to sleep substantially less than those who sleep at night due to by some of societies most dangerous people, and depressed after a certain point when they frequent interruptions that can easily occur and despite the danger, he was so exhausted realize they can barely do the job.” that he fell asleep,” Kryger said in astonishKryger recalled an RCMP officer who was during the day, Kryger warned. referred to him after constantly falling asleep at “You still have to put up with unsolicited ment. The correctional officer was reprimanded the job. The Mountie was diagnosed with sleep phone calls, someone knocking at the door, or your child that needs to be taken to the doctor and ordered to seek treatment for his constant apnia, a condition which stops breathing during during the day - all while you’re supposed to fatigue. Kryger attributes the officer’s fatigue sleep. Kryger mentioned the problem to the to long shifts. officer’s employer and said shift work was be sleeping,” he said. “Police officers who are at the end of their putting an excessive burden on the officer, and Consequently, such interruptions can lead to fatigue during hours when an individual should shift are also not functioning as well as they the police force. He recommended to the RCMP that the officer be placed on day shifts to maximize his productivity. While there is no such thing as a “good shift”, Kryger says the best solution for many agencies would be to find people who function best at night and use them on a permanent basis. Rotating officers from days to nights is simply counterproductive to the force, he added. Kryger stresses that anyone suffering from fatigue on the job should see a doctor or seek an evaluation by a sleep specialist to ensure there is no medical condition causing the problem. “The greatest help, however, can come from police agencies by making schedules as safe as possible and recognizing that some people may have a sleep problem that needs to be treated,” he said. “There is definitely room for law enforcement to make improvements.” For further details go to BlueLinks at www.blueline.ca

June/July 2001

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Evolution on the street

Enforcement key to curbing gangs, officers say notes that street gangs are not reflective of a native crime problem. “Around 50 per cent of the people Street gangs, like other criminal orwe keep records on in our database claim ganizations, have been forced to evolve aboriginal status,” he said. “So it’s not in recent years in an effort to elude law defined to an ethnic group. It’s the deenforcement authorities, according to a mographic of the neighbourhood. If Winnipeg police officer. you’re in a heavily native neighbour“It’s the evolution of criminal activhood, then your gang may be heavily ity,” said Det. Rick Lobban, a member native. In other parts of the city they of the Winnipeg Police Service’s gang have the same name, but they don’t comunit. “We’ve moved from low level street prise of a big native population.” crimes and high profile initiations, to Walsh, who has served with the more sophisticated criminal endeavours.” Thunder Bay force for 13 years, said Lobban, a 26-year veteran, said five the city’s street gang situation closely years ago street gangs were involved in LIFE OF CRIME: Street gang members usually join a group mirrors that of Winnipeg. The Indian swarmings, auto thefts and armed rob- at a young age. Being pro-active is the key to prevention. Posse, Native Syndicate and Duece are beries. However, times have changed and all active in Thunder Bay. The police drug trafficking has become the crime of choice In Winnipeg, there are currently 31 street service is currently in the process of determinfor many street gang members because it re- gangs in existence with more than 1,900 active ing the number of active gang members. sults in large payoffs. members and approximately 1,200 inactive In Montreal, Morin said there are approxiThe new trend in street gang drug traffick- members. An inactive member is someone the mately 20 active street gangs with 500 active ing are “dial-a-dope” networks. Dial-a-dope, police have not had contact with for two years, members. The police service estimates there allows drug users to call a cellular phone be- Lobban said. are another 1,000 individuals who are either longing to a gang member and have narcotics The four largest gangs are the Manitoba inactive members or are associates of the gangs. delivered directly to them. This “hugely profit- Warriors, Indian Posse, Native Syndicate and All three officers agreed that the public’s able” venture has caught the imagination of many Duece. The four gangs make up about 85 per perception that street gangs are comprised of street gangs. cent of the city’s street gang population. young bullies must be changed. In fact, the profit in narcotics has even led While the names of three of the four largest “The members are between 12 and at least rival street gang members to form drug traffick- gangs contain aboriginal references, Lobban 28-years-old,” Morin said. “We have old meming networks with each other. “The walls between specific gangs are falling and you’re finding members of different gangs amalgamating into groups,” Lobban said. “Their basic premise is drug trafficking. The old allegiances have died and they’ve formed organizations that deal drugs and trafficking in drugs.” Det. Sgt. Serge Morin, a 30-year Montreal police veteran, said while street gangs have evolved into the drug trade, they are already looking to other crimes in order to make money. “You name it, they do it,” he said. “When we started our street gang unit in 1985, they were mostly involved in prostitution. Slowly, we had some aggression in schools. Gradually, those members would grow up to do drug trafficking - mostly crack. Today, most of them are involved in fraud.” Thunder Bay Police Service Det. Cst. Kelly Walsh also noted that street gang members are now increasingly involved in fraud-related crimes. “They’ll steal someone’s pin number and bank card,” he said. “They’ll put an empty envelope into the bank machine and withdraw the money right before midnight and then do it again right after midnight.” The Canadian Security Intelligence Service defines a street gang as a group of five or more individuals who commit an offence which carries a penalty of five or more years in jail. At least one of the individuals involved in the offence, must have been involved in such criminal activity for at least five years in order for the group to qualify as a gang under the organization’s definition. by Blair McQuillan

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bers that are still associated with the street gangs. Their age gives them a certain status in the group.” Walsh adds that the older members of the gangs usually join the groups at an early age. Therefore, one of the keys to curbing their growth is to be pro-active in deterring children from getting involved in street gangs. To assist in this effort, the Thunder Bay Police Service works with agencies in the community to help reach out to youngsters. “The approach is to be proactive and start talking to them at a young age,” Walsh said. “We get out in the schools and we do presentations.” As for active street gangs, the officers say high enforcement, intelligence gathering and implementing special prosecutors in the courts, have all helped to curb their activity. “What we’ve been able to do is target the leaders,” Morin said. “When we are able to get those (leaders) out of business, either through incarceration or deportation, the wannabes tend to disband.” The detective sergeant added that deporting gang members has been made easier thanks to cooperation from Immigration Canada. In Thunder Bay, Walsh said the police have taken a united approach in the war on street gangs. The street gang unit works closely with the drug unit and property crime team because many street gang members are involved in those types of crimes. The street gang unit stays in close contact with front line officers as well, Walsh said.

“We have more and more intimidation from street gangs towards police officers.” Whenever the street gang unit wants to collect information on a suspect, all they have to do is post his or her picture in the police service’s briefing room and street level officers are able to provide them with the data they need. “We liaise well with our street level officers,” he said. “They give us information constantly.” And just how effective is this approach? “Sources indicate that the local Indian Posse is laying low because we’ve put about seven or eight of their prominent members and associates in jail in the last five months,” Walsh said. However, some street gangs are not retreating as a result of the high enforcement approach, and are instead retaliating through strong-arm tactics. “We have more and more intimidation from street gangs towards police officers,” Morin said. The Montreal officer added he recently met an FBI official from Washington who told him intimidating police officers is a new trend that authorities in the United States have also

been encountering. Morin said that Canadian street gangs used to be about five years behind their American counterparts in terms of activity and crime trends, however, they are now about even. In Manitoba, the provincial government hired approximately six special prosecutors a year ago in an effort to better handle court cases involving crimes committed by street gangs. “It’s very effective and I just can’t say enough good about them,” Lobban said. “When you deal with specialized crimes, you have to have specialized prosecutors. You have to have people who understand why these crimes are being committed and the gang-related culture that goes with it.” However, Lobban notes there is a downside to the court process. “When you define for the court’s satisfaction all of the criteria needed to be deemed a criminal organization, or a gang member, you’ve educated them on how to circumvent that,” he said. “There’s no way around it. You have to go and present your evidence, and in doing so, you’re tipping your hand and laying out how you investigate (cases) to satisfy the court.” As for the future, the officers think street gangs will become more organized than they have been in the past. “The motto they have to live by is evolve or die,” Lobban said. “They have to be involved in the criminal evolution, which means they are going to have to become more sophisticated.”

Toronto police officers found guilty of misconduct Two Toronto police officers work“quizzical,” and “extremely dising with Det. Cst. William Hancox the tressing” to describe testimony given evening he was murdered were found by Manuel and Smith earlier this guilty in March of misconduct for year. drinking on the job and neglect of duty. Smith, a member of a four-ofRetired Ontario Provincial Police ficer team that included Hancox and superintendent, Bob Fitches, who Manuel, had argued during the pooversaw the hearing determined evilice disciplinary hearing that they dence clearly indicated Det. Elmer were not on active duty at the time Manuel and Det. Cst. Larry Smith Hancox was killed. were working on the evening of Aug. “In my opinion, Det. Manuel Hancox 4, 1998. That was the night when and Det. Cst. Smith’s assertions relaHancox, 32, was stabbed to death in an east end tive to their off duty status are simply designed Toronto parking lot while on surveillance detail. to extricate themselves from this situation,” Fitches used words such as “preposterous,” Fitches was quoted as saying in referring to the

Police Services Act charges against the officers. Comments made by the officer after Hancox was stabbed and attendance records for Manuel relating to the night in question, convinced Fitches the pair were on duty. Manuel was acquitted of a third charge of deceit. A senior Toronto police commander, Supt. Paul Gottschalk, was also found guilty of neglect of duty in March for not following up on an inquiry made by Hancox’s wife about the whereabouts of Smith and Manuel that night. Elaine Cece and Barbara Taylor attacked Hancox in an attempt to steal the plainclothes officer’s car. They were later convicted of second-degree murder.

Students hand out canine vests The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary’s two police service dogs have been outfitted with bullet resistant canine vests courtesy of a local high school. The students at Mount Pearl Senior High School concluded a special fund-raising project in March by presenting the bullet resistant vests to Storm, Jerry and their handlers. The students came up with the idea to raise $1,500 for the two vests last fall when the dog team visited the school. For further details go to BlueLinks at www.blueline.ca

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Hard hitting legislation to deal with gangs and officer protection Canadians are concerned about the presence of organized crime in their communities and believe that governments should be doing more to address this growing threat to public safety. “The Government of Canada is responding by introducing aggressive and broadly-based changes to the law that will strengthen the ability of law enforcement officers and prosecutors to fight organized crime,” a recent press release from the Federal Department of Justice stated. The proposed amendments to the Criminal Code will fulfil five immediate needs in that it will: • Introduce three new offences and tough sentences that target various degrees of involvement with criminal organizations. • Improve the protection of people who play a role in the justice system from intimidation against them and their families. • Simplify the current definition of “criminal organization” in the Criminal Code. • Broaden powers of law enforcement to forfeit the proceeds of crime and, in particular, the profits of criminal organizations and to seize property that was used in a crime. • Establish an accountable process to protect law enforcement officers from criminal liabil-

implement legislation and related prosecution and law enforcement strategies. The new Federal Prosecution Strategy Against Organized Crime, and the continuation of the Integrated Proceeds of Crime initiative, are two important components in the federal government’s strategy to fight organized crime. “This funding will build on the $584 million that the RCMP received in the 2000 budget for organized crime enforcement, improved national police services and new communications systems,” the press release said.

Making Participation In A Criminal Organization An Offence

GETTING TOUGH: On organized crime. ity when they commit what would otherwise be considered illegal actions while investigating and infiltrating criminal organizations. Additionally, the Minister of Justice and the Solicitor General of Canada announced funding of $200 million over the next five years to

By making participation in a criminal organization a criminal offence, the proposed legislative amendments represent an effective and legally sound approach to the issue of membership in organized crime. The provisions could target anyone, not just members, who knowingly became involved in activities that further the organization’s criminal objectives. The proposed new offences would target anyone who: • Participates in or contributes to activities that help a criminal organization achieve its criminal objectives. This offence could include, for

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example, people who recruit others to join a criminal organization or who facilitate illegal transactions of a criminal organization. The maximum penalty for this offence would be five years. • Is involved in committing indictable offences for the benefit of criminal organizations. The maximum penalty for this offence would be 14 years. • Is a leader of a criminal organization. These persons will include anyone within the criminal organization who instructs another person to become involved in a criminal offence. This offence would carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Sentences for these offences would be served consecutively, not concurrently. Unlike other types of penalty provisions that require offenders to serve only a third of their sentence before becoming eligible to apply for parole, offenders convicted of criminal organization offences would have to serve at least half of their term before they are eligible to apply for parole, unless the court directed otherwise.

Protecting People In The Criminal Justice System From Intimidation Intimidation takes on many forms. It can be subtle or explicit, for example, a death threat made in court against prosecutors and their families. Under the new provisions, it will be an offence to use violence to intimidate people involved in the justice system, or a member of their family with the intention of impeding the administration of justice. Justice participants include witnesses, jurors, police, prosecutors, prison guards, judges, members of parliament and senators. The offence of intimidation of a justice system participant would be punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment. The legislation will also contain provisions to protect the privacy of jurors. Additionally, the killing of any justice system participant in the course of intimidating, or attempting to intimidate, that person would be first-degree murder and would carry an automatic sentence of life imprisonment with no parole for 25 years. These amendments implement the two recommendations made by the Sub-Committee on Organized Crime that specifically address in-

“This strategy recognizes the increasingly complex legal environment in which investigations of criminal organizations take place. “ timidation of participants in the justice system.

Simplifying The Definition Of “Criminal Organization” The proposed new definition of “criminal organization” responds to concerns expressed by police and prosecutors that the current definition is too complex and too narrow in scope. As well as simplifying the definition of criminal organization, the amended provision will give police and prosecutors the flexibility they need to go after more criminal organizations and those who choose to get involved in their activities. The amended definition would: • Reduce the number of people required to constitute a criminal organization from five to three. This brings Canadian legislation into line with legislation used in other countries. • No longer require prosecutors to show that members of the criminal organization were involved in committing a series of crimes for the criminal organization in the last five years. Instead, prosecutors will be able to focus on the evidence relevant to the crimes that are on trial. • Broaden the scope of the offences which define a criminal organization (currently limited to indictable offences punishable by five or more years) to all serious crimes, including “signature” crimes such as prostitution and gambling.

Seizure, Freezing And Confiscation Of The Proceeds Of Crime Current laws allow for the seizure, freezing and confiscation of proceeds of about 40 types of crimes defined as “enterprise crimes”, for example, firearms trafficking, stock market fraud and arson. The amendments propose to expand the proceeds of crime provisions so that they apply to most indictable offences. Another set of amendments would allow Canadian authorities to enforce foreign criminal confiscation orders involving proceeds of crime. Such an approach is proposed in international agreements such as the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, the Council of Europe’s Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of Proceeds of Crime and the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Launder-

ing. Innocent third party interests would be protected. Currently, the law provides for the forfeiture of property only if it was especially built or modified in order to carry out the crime. Under the proposed amendments, forfeiture of offencerelated property would, for the first time, apply to all property (e.g., houses or other real estate, vehicles or equipment) that was used in committing the crime. To ensure that the provisions are applied fairly, the law requires that a test be applied so that the punishment of forfeiture would not be disproportionate to the seriousness of the crime.

Protecting Law Enforcement Officers Police officers investigating crimes such as people-smuggling, smuggling of contraband such as liquor, tobacco and firearms, hate crimes, international terrorism and environmental crimes, must use a variety of techniques, including, on occasion, committing offences to infiltrate, destabilize and bring down these operations. In a ruling handed down on April 22, 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada said police do not have immunity as agents of the Crown when they commit illegal acts to enforce the very laws they are breaking - unless Parliament gives them authority to do so. The court said in this ruling that in Canada “it is accepted that it is for Parliament to determine when in the context of law enforcement the end justifies means that would otherwise be unlawful.’’ The Ontario case that brought about the creation of this controversial legislative proposal involved RCMP officers who posed as hashish traffickers and attempted to sell the drugs to an alleged leader of a huge illegal narcotics operation. The reverse-sting operation led to the arrest and conviction of the leader and another person identified as his aid, or second in charge. The two appealed the case to the Supreme Court on the grounds that the police operation was an abuse of process and asked that their drug convictions be stayed because it would bring the administration of justice into disrepute. Although the court said police must obey the law of the land, it suggested the RCMP conduct would not shock the public enough to warrant a stay of the convictions. In this case the Supreme Court did not rule on the abuse of process matter but did refer it to a lower court to consider. The ruling only affected cases that occurred before legislation was introduced in 1996, which gave police specific powers when dealing with drug crimes that worked around some of the problems that this case presented. Justice Ian Binnie, writing for the unanimous ruling, noted the RCMP took care to control their illegal activity by ensuring no hashish actually changed hands or entered the criminal black market. The justice pointed to difficulties police are faced with when using traditional enforcement methods for drug crimes. The court noted that it was for Parliament to determine if police should

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Blue Line Magazine

benefit from some kind of public interest immunity and, if so, to set out laws that clearly showed the circumstances in which police would be protected from criminal liability. The provisions in the new legislative proposals are the result of consultations with provinces, territories and representatives from the law enforcement and legal communities. The justice minister pointed out three provisions in particular that dispel concerns and rumours about the new amendments: • The amendments do not give “blanket” immunity to police for any criminal conduct. • The legislation clearly sets out the actions for which immunity would not be granted. There would be no immunity for intentionally or recklessly causing death or bodily harm, sexual offences or deliberately obstructing the course of justice. • The amendments establish an accountability process that will require, among other things, that the Solicitor General of Canada, provincial ministers responsible for policing, and federal ministers responsible for the enforcement of other federal statutes, release an annual report that will account how often officers under their authority engaged in acts such as the destruction of property.

Non-legislative Measures The recent announcement advises that the Government of Canada will mount a new Intensive Federal Prosecution Strategy against Organized Crime that will ensure increased coordination between investigators and prosecutors and

more effective investigations and prosecutions. “This strategy,” the news release said, “recognizes the increasingly complex legal environment in which investigations of criminal organizations take place. These prosecutions are often characterized by large numbers of accused, voluminous evidence and challenging legal issues.” The news release went on to say that the intensive prosecution strategy will feature dedicated anti-organized crime prosecutors working in integrated enforcement teams with law enforcement officers to provide prompt and expert legal advice to investigators during their investigations. In another initiative there will be specialized federal justice disclosure units assigned to manage the large amount of evidence that must be disclosed in order to ensure fair trials, but which first must be carefully reviewed to protect informant sources and confidential investigative techniques. A key component of the new prosecution strategy is the creation of teams of experienced prosecutors who will handle these complex cases at trial. These specialized prosecutors will be able to respond to organized crime prosecutions involving federal offences such as drug trafficking and the smuggling of human beings. The April press release also said that funding will be invested in sophisticated and multidisciplinary enforcement action at the CanadaUnited States border and elsewhere. This is seen as a measure to improve the RCMP intelligence gathering capacity, and enhance technology and infrastructure to support complex investigations. For further details go to BlueLinks at www.blueline.ca

Sleep deprived man walks A man charged with assaulting a peace officer was acquitted in April because of chronic sleep deprivation. Justice Ken Lenz acquitted John Solar after agreeing with expert testimony that Solar was suffering from a condition called sleep inertia when he attacked a Grand River Conservation Authority officer who was trying to search his van in April 2000. Psychologist Giorgio Ilacqua said in his testimony at the trial that a person in deep sleep can experience extreme confusion and involuntary automatism, which rendered Solar unable to form the intent to commit the crime. Court was told that Solar has trouble sleeping and was diagnosed by Ilacqua as being chronically sleep deprived. On April 12, 2000, Solar and his son were sleeping in a van when conservation officers instructed them to leave the vehicle so they could check it for out-of-season walleye. Officers said they saw Solar’s son try to hide a bag containing two walleye and suspected they might have more. Both officers testified they found Solar asleep and that he became belligerent and uncooperative after they woke him. A struggle resulted in one officer receiving a head-butt. Pepper spray had to be used twice to subdue Solar. Lenz ordered Solar to enter a peace bond, legally requiring him to seek medical help for his condition.

Dalhousie University Certificate in Police Leadership “In my opinion, the Certificate in Police Leadership program is designed to increase the knowledge, skills and abilities of police officers, regardless of rank or position. The courses provide relevant and realistic information, which can then be applied immediately at a personal and organization level.”

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Our fall term will begin on August 31! If you would like more information or wish to have a brochure mailed to you please contact Sherry Carmont-MacBean, Program Manager at (902) 494-6930. You may also write to Sherry via e-mail at CPL@Dal.Ca or to the address below. Detailed information and registration forms can also be found on our web site. Henson College, Dalhousie University 6100 University Avenue Halifax NS B3H 3J5 www.dal.ca/~henson/police/indexcpl.html

Learning Solutions for a Changing World

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Blue Line Magazine

Bring back the traffic units ing the motoring public, the police are best equipped to act as catalysts and coordinators for traffic safety. by Robert Lunney The components of an effective traffic management strategy include: There never was a town, city or • Community consultation and road system in Canada where the resiproblem solving. dents didn’t believe they had a traffic • Selective enforcement. problem. • Traffic flow techniques. In the big cities and on highways, • Parking control. the complaint is bumper to bumper • Partnerships with traffic engineers. congestion and delays. In mid-sized cit• Traffic safety education. ies the concern is movement during rush Community consultation groups hours and queuing for lights and turns. can assist in identifying the problems Residents of towns gauge ecowhich most annoy and threaten motorists in their daily driving experinomic and social conditions using trafence. Expertise is indispensable, but fic as a measuring stick – in good times, who knows the problems better than “Traffic has never been heavier;” in bad the regular users of the roads. times – “The streets are bare.” And in A selective enforcement strategy villages drivers complain about waitfocuses police resources on commuing behind three cars at the only traffic light, or that they can’t find a parking ENFORCEMENT: Communities want to see traffic officers. nity concerns, identifies problem locations, and targets driving behaviour spot on Main Street. directly contributing to collisions. This style of Next to the weather, traffic conditions are enforcement is much more effective than ranthe most discussed concern of daily living. And The Results Are… During the 1980’s and 1990’s it seemed that dom tagging or short term “drives” that have no Two Decades Of Decline you could drive from coast to coast without impact on long term driver behaviour. Photo radar has its place in ensuring consistThe police were once heavily engaged and seeing any police traffic units. I don’t have the ency for moving violation enforcement, but techoccupied with roadway conditions and a sig- research to back this up, but I would wager that nificant portion of the police service was de- the reduction in police visibility and enforce- nology without the personal intervention of a voted exclusively to enforcement of traffic laws. ment parallelled increases in collisions and ve- traffic officer is less effective in driver education. Resources devoted to traffic flow will clear obMany departments featured elite units with hicle deaths. specially marked cars and even distinct uniIn our larger cities where traffic divisions structed driving lanes and choke spots quickly forms. Highway patrols were believed by the were disbanded or sharply curtailed, drivers gradu- using parking control and roving patrols. Traffic engineers use police collision reports public to be everywhere, lurking behind bill- ally lost respect for the law for lack of conseto identify problem locations and test solutions. boards and stalking unwary speeders. The mo- quences. Running red and amber lights, and changAn efficient means of pooling traffic data entoring public was mindful of regulation and the ing lanes without signalling have become comhances the opportunity for true collaboration consequences for breaking the law. mon behaviour. Vehicles block intersections as between police and engineers. Roadway design Police traffic specialists were highly visible drivers try to crowd into any open space, and changes, one way streets, calming devices and managing parades and special events. In some cyclists weave among cars and pedestrians, tosignal light phasing changes are among the poscities, the familiar police officer directing vehi- tally ignoring the rules of the road. sible solutions. cles and pedestrians at a busy intersection was “Road rage” erupts on streets and highTraffic safety education is also essential for reassuring evidence of a watchful and caring com- ways, followed closely by “pedestrian rage”, influencing children and young persons, with munity. with city people on foot striking back at incon- wider application to public service announceA few traffic point officers, notably in siderate drivers with gestures, name calling and ments and driving advice to the motoring public. Montreal and St. John’s, became urban legends occasionally pounding on offending vehicles. Other potential partners include: in their own right. The bright yellow cars of the Cellular phones and wireless e-mail access pose • Provincial licensing bureaus. Toronto Police Traffic Division were ubiqui- a new road safety hazard. • Driver education schools. tous on the downtown streets of that city. We know from past experience that the • The insurance industry. Unwary pedestrians or drivers committing a police, given support and encouragement, can • Major motor associations. minor offence or discourtesy could be hailed with be more effective in coping with traffic prob- • Public and private transportation companies. a warning from the bullhorn. Traffic patrol offic- lems. Armed with predictions about growing These interests share a common goal of proers nationwide would monitor school crossings congestion and its impact on quality of life, moting traffic safety and ensuring the well-beon foot and take part in the education and en- perhaps it is time for the police to marshal a ing of the motoring public. A police traffic mancouragement of school safety patrols. constructive case for re-investing in traffic safety agement effort can bring them together for the In many places in Canada, these conditions and regulation. common good and vastly multiply the opporno longer exist. Beginning about 25 years ago, tunities for success. influenced by efficiency studies that claimed Traffic Management No traffic management program is complete savings by eliminating or consolidating specialTraffic management is to traffic law enforce- without a comprehensive set of performance ized units, many police traffic divisions were ment what community policing is to traditional indicators. In addition to the standard enforcedown-sized, decentralized, or absorbed into policing – a comprehensive strategy involving ment indicators, time and numeric factors measgeneral patrol. In rural areas, highway patrol police collaborating with the community and ure the success of traffic flow strategies and the resources were lost to budget reductions and other partners to solve problems, in this case evaluation process substantiates success with other priorities. traffic problems. Of all the participants servic- problem solving. June/July 2001

Blue Line Magazine

The Future Without Traffic Management Canadian cities will continue to grow, more people will enter the work force, and there will be more cars on the roads. People will travel extensively for work and for leisure and spend more time in their cars. There seems little prospect of multi-million dollar improvements and breakthrough changes in the roadway system. Public works budgets are overloaded and there is a lack of available land for new roads or lane widening. Overcrowded roads are a certainty in the short and long term future. The auto industry responded by designing vehicles with amenities to convenience and amuse drivers and passengers as they prepare to spend more time on the road.

The Well-ordered Society

If nothing more is done to ensure the safe and efficient passage of traffic, we are in for a variety of ills including an increase in property damage, injury collisions, gridlocked streets and highways and continuing deterioration of public civility. These conditions have the prospect for blighting quality of life. A revitalized police traffic management strategy, persuasively marketed, has the potential to claim a high priority with the community. Perhaps a few model projects featuring collaborative problem solving and evaluated independently could begin the process of marshalling support for public investment in traffic management. Respond to Bandwagons@BlueLine.ca

Preparations being made for first annual police motorcycle ride More than 100 law enforcement motorcycle riders from police services across Ontario are planning to raise public awareness and funds to help prevent child abuse. The first annual “Law enforcement Motorcycle Ride for the Prevention of Child Abuse”, hosted by the Canadian Centre for Child Abuse Awareness (CCAA), will be held in Toronto on July 21. The event will begin on the Legislative grounds at Queen’s Park where there will be exciting entertainment, food, beverages and activities for the whole family. The crowd will have much to do as they wait in anticipation for the arrival of the motorcycle riders, who will converge on the grounds of Queen’s Park. At approximately 1:30 p.m., the riders will begin their trip through the streets of Toronto and onwards to Sibbald Point Provincial Park on the picturesque shores of Lake Simcoe in Sutton. After arriving at the park, the riders will have a chance to relax, enjoy some refreshments and take part in a variety of local community activities. When they make their return to Toronto, the riders will greet spectators as they arrive at the SkyDome for the 2001 Toronto Police Games. All of the day’s riders and respective po-

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June/July June/July2001 2001

lice services will be featured as part of this year’s Games. The CCAA will also announce the total amount raised from the ride during the Games’ opening ceremonies. The First Annual Law Enforcement Motorcycle Ride for the Prevention of Child Abuse is the vision of CCAA director Ken Doige. As a veteran police officer with the Toronto Police Service who is currently serving with the York Regional Police, Doige realized that often times, the officers and respective police agencies that participate in charity motorcycle rides receive very little recognition for their dedicated efforts and community involvement. Doige also realized that in most cases, it is the participation of our police services that make these rides the very successes that they are. In order to recognize police officers and their respective services for their commitment to the prevention of child abuse Doige created this “police only” ride. If you have, or are presently serving as a police officer, you are eligible to participate in this ride. The ride is open to both police and personal motorcycles. To register as a participant for this ride contact Ken Doige at (416) 461-6110 or 1-888-545-5585.

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Blue Line Magazine

The world-wide-wait is over

by Tom Rataj

High-speed access makes the Internet a business tool that’s a pleasure to use

When the publicly accessible Internet arrived and started to become popular in the early 1990’s, only a few million people used it, and much of the business world, including Microsoft Corporation, actually ignored it. Most of the content on the world-wideweb (www), the graphical user-interface known to most people, was relatively simple and easy to use with the only affordable access; basic dial-up service using a telephone modem. As the Internet increased in popularity, content became more complex, and everyone started to log-on, creating a sort of “virtual” traffic jam, that was often referred to sarcastically as the “world-wide-wait”. During this rapid expansion of the Internet, dial-up communication standards changed several times, taking us from what was once a reasonably acceptable modem standard of 14.4 kilo bits per seconds (kbps) to today’s 56 kbps top end (often referred to as 56K or V.90).

A Need For Speed Concurrent to all this, were the completely overwhelming advances in computer processor speeds, storage space and easy to use web authoring software. This allowed companies and individuals to easily create and maintain increasingly complex web pages. Plain static pages quickly evolved into fancy multi-media pages with sound and moving images. All this, of course, required far higher communications capabilities in order to work acceptably. To deal with this, many web development companies switched to direct Internet connections such as those used by local Internet service providers. This allowed them to download

LOGGING ON: To the web is now faster. and upload their increasingly large and complex web pages without any significant delays. All these complex web pages worked well for them, but to the average home and small business user, stuck with a slow dialup connection, the Internet became increasingly slow and frustrating to use.

Broadband Solutions Finally, several years back, the cable companies and local phone companies both began to offer high-speed access over their systems. Properly called “broadband” services, they both

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June/July 2001

offer much higher-speed access using newer technologies on their existing cables and wires. Broadband refers to a medium such as a cable or wire that is capable of carrying more than one channel of information at a time. Both cable and telephone lines actually use only a small fraction of their available bandwidth (the capacity of the line) to provide the standard services such as TV and voice. To provide high-speed Internet service over these existing lines, the companies use a variety of networking technologies to take advantage of the unused bandwidth. On the cable side of broadband is the familiar “@HOME” brand name, which is available in an ever-increasing percentage of Canadian homes already serviced by cable companies. Using a special cable-modem connected through a network card in a user’s computer, along with some specialized software, cable Internet provides service that is potentially 100 times faster than typical dial-up access. Because it does not use the phone lines at all, it helps users avoid tying-up their phone line for hours. To avoid interference between data and TV signals, the cable companies install small filters to all cable connections inside a home or business. On the phone company’s side is a technology known collectively as Digital Subscriber Line (DSL). It is available in a number of different types and speeds, the most predominant of which is 1.2 million bits per second (Mbps) ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line). Again, like cable internet, DSL uses a special modem connected through a network card installed in a user’s computer, along with some software to provide connections that are potentially 100 times faster than dial-up. Like cable Internet, ADSL allows users to talk on the phone while surfing, avoiding the dreaded busy signals. To help prevent interference between the voice and data on the line, small matchbox sized micro-filters need to be installed between every phone and the wall jack. In Ontario and Quebec, Bell Canada supplies them for free regardless of whether your ADSL service is with them or not. Both these technologies are “asymmetric” which means that they download information faster than they upload information. Both download and upload speed are still incredibly fast when compared to dial-up. There is an intense marketing battle going on between these two competing technologies, with a lot of half-truths and misleading information being fed to the public in slick TV and radio ads. New customer incentives are also frequently offered, giving customers free installation and one or two months of free service. ADSL service is a simple do-it-yourself installation process, while cable Internet generally needs to be installed by a cable company technician. Self-installation kits for cable Internet have started to become available. Blue Line Magazine

Promises While both technologies promise up to one megabit-per-second (Mbps) download speed, neither one often actually reaches this potential speed because of the many variables that affect Internet service. The Internet itself, which is essentially one gigantic complex computer network, is prone to a vast array of variables that individual users have no control over. They range from computer and server problems that can occur just about anywhere in the system, to simple communications failures like a cable-cut that recently suspended service to 300,000 Rogers@home customers in southern Ontario. Of these two technologies, cable generally has the speed edge because ADSL service relies on the customer’s physical distance (not more than 4.5 km) from the phone company’s central office, although again there are too many variables to accurately say which service is better in any particular area. Rogers and Shaw cable, the two biggest Canadian cable companies, have been struggling to keep up with demand, resulting in serious infrastructure shortfalls that have caused unreliable service, or no service at all, for days at a time. Bell Canada and Telus Corporation, the two biggest local phone companies, have also been busy trying to keep up with demand for ADSL service, sometimes resulting in service installation delays. What all this broadband service means for home and business users is the ability to visit almost any website, and download almost any file, regardless of size. I recently timed an 18.5 MB file that I downloaded from my ISP, using ADSL. The transfer was done in five minutes and eight seconds. Using dial-up access to download the same file would have left me plenty of time (at least one hour) to take care of other things.

service network. If these prices seem high, they are actually cheap compared to what American customers often pay. Prices south of the border seem to range between $40 to $60 for either type of broadband service, which when converted at current exchange rates translates to around $60 to $90 in Canadian funds. While broadband prices are cheap by American and European prices, $40 per month, for more-or-less unlimited access still adds up to a fairly hefty annual expense. Hopefully more competition from smaller upstarts will help bring prices down. In addition to broadband cable and telephone access, direct broadcast and satellite Internet services are available in a few markets. In Quebec and southern Ontario, direct-broadcast TV provider Look Communications Inc., has added two versions of broadband Internet to their service offerings. Their original service was rated at the same potential speed as cable and ADSL, but required the constant use of a telephone line for uploads and information requests. Their newer, higher speed service doesn’t use a phone line and has a potential speed of 2.2 Mbps for downloads. Their TV and Internet service uses microwave technology to transmit signals between their transmitter and the customer’s antenna. It requires a direct, line-of-sight installation, which places a few limits on availability.

ard in these times, just as a fax machine became the business standard 15 years ago. Even if a company does not sell merchandise over the Internet, a well designed and maintained website can be an important value-added service to people doing business with it. In the case of the police community, the Internet is an excellent public relations tool, as well as an excellent research and investigative aid. Numerous investigative resources such as on-line telephone white and yellow pages, postal-code look-ups and other such services aimed at regular customers, can help save time and money. Without an Internet connection, a simple task, such as looking up a postal code for mailing a subpoena can easily be frustrated by an out of date, damaged or missing postal code book, not to mention the cost (currently $21.95) of buying the book every year or two. Looking up a postal code on Canada Post’s website is fast and simple, and always up to date. As shift workers, police officers are frequently on days off, out on the road, or working nights, making it difficult for people to contact the officer with, or for, information. Voicemail systems make this process easier, and Internet e-mail makes it easier still. High-speed Internet makes all these things far more accessible and turns what had become a frustrating experience into an enjoyable business tool. While the Internet certainly is not the be-all, end-all, it can be a valuable extension of many business processes.

A Business Case

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Other Choices

The Internet has become a business stand-

Costs With a typical access price of $39.95 per month for either technology, there are an awful lot of potential profits to be made by everyone involved in providing broadband Internet. Recent market surveys suggest that ADSL is starting to take the lead away from cable, although regional differences do exist. Unlike cable access, which can only be obtained directly from the cable companies, ADSL is also available through many independent Internet service providers for prices ranging from $24.95 to $39.95. The more competitive prices usually exclude the $10 monthly modem rental fees that are included in the standard local phone company prices. Users who opt not to rent a modem should anticipate paying around $200 to buy an ADSL modem such as the popular Alcatel Speed-touch Home modem. The southern Ontario market, which accounts for at least 10 per cent of the total Canadian population, is witnessing a hard-fought battle between Roger Cable and Bell Canada. Bell Canada, which is the local telephone company for Ontario and Quebec, has been experiencing growth rates in excess of 40,000 new installations a month for their Sympatico Highspeed Edition. Rogers Cable has seen similar growth rates in their market, but has experienced a number of serious growing pains and interruptions in service to large areas of their For further details go to BlueLinks at www.blueline.ca

June/July June/July2001 2001

Blue Line Magazine

Research targets stress of jury duty Prohibiting jurors from communicating their trial experiences with others even spouses or therapists - may be detrimental to their wellbeing, according to a team of psychologists studying the effects of trials on jurors. The psychologists, from Simon Fraser University (SFU) in British Columbia, also say Section 649 of the Criminal Code hinders researchers in their bid to carry out critical studies on juries and are calling for the law to be revamped. Under Section 649 it is a punishable offence for jurors to disclose information related to the jury’s proceedings. The only exception is when obstruction of justice occurs, as it did in the case involving juror Gillian Guess. The law was introduced in the mid 1970s to provide increased protection for those serving on juries. But SFU psychology professor James Ogloff and graduate student Sonia Chopra say the extreme levels of secrecy can be harmful, even traumatic for jurors. While they say some limitations on disclosure of deliberations are valid, an overall ban on communication is “extreme and unwarranted.” Their arguments were recently published in the journal, Criminal Law Quarterly, in a paper called “Evaluating jury secrecy: Implications for academic research and juror stress.” Chopra, a former jury consultant in the United States, where there is no secrecy law, says Section 649 makes it illegal for researchers

to listen to jurors talk about their experiences. “One woman I interviewed was in tears from what appeared to be the way she had been treated by fellow jurors, but I had to stop her from discussing the matter,” says Chopra, who is researching the effects of sequestration on juries, particularly those in high profile trials. “In the U.S. the main buffer is social support. In Canada, jurors don’t have access to that.” Chopra says while there have been no indepth studies on stress conducted in Canada due to the secrecy rule, there is growing evidence in the U.S. that some jurors experience considerable stress, and that keeping them from speaking about their experiences may be harmful. “Juries are the only part of the legal system in Canada that we can’t properly evaluate,” says Ogloff. “There is a need to conduct research with real jurors if we are to evaluate and perhaps improve their performance.” Despite the limitation of the law the researchers are conducting a study to learn more about jurors’ trial experiences, including stress. Graduate student Gordon Rose, a former prosecutor, is looking at procedural aspects of the jury and the ability of jurors to perform some of the duties the law demands of them.

To date, 35 former jurors have responded to extensive, carefully worded surveys related to jury experience. Researchers hope to complete interviews with as many as 100. They’ve taken out newspaper ads in recent months in a bid to find former jurors who have served on criminal trials over the past few years. “Because of the law, we have to do a fair amount of policing of ourselves as we do this,” says Ogloff. The 27-page survey includes several statements related to stress, such as “I have disturbing memories of my jury duty” and “There are emotions resulting from jury duty that I have bottled up inside.” Jurors are asked to respond by rating potential stress levels. Another section of the survey deals with the jurors’ ability to understand instruction. Ogloff and Rose earlier found jurors at times have difficulty comprehending the legal instructions given at trials. Ogloff’s students continue to run weekend mock trials at SFU as part of an ongoing study of jury behaviour. Ogloff became interested in juror stress after a highly publicized Prince George trial involving child pornographers left the jury traumatized. Hired by the judge, Ogloff and psychologist Maureen Olley spent time working with the jurors to calm them.

Marijuana search warrant thrown out

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June/July 2001

A search warrant used to seize 30 marijuana plants was thrown out after a BC Supreme Court judge said police officers didn’t do enough leg work. It is the third drug case in Kamloops to be lost in less than a year because of improperly acquired search warrants. Charges were stayed by the federal Crown against Leon Pare and Vera Sterling in April. The two were charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking in March 2000. A search by the RCMP special projects unit yielded 30 marijuana plants and hydroponics growing equipment in the couple’s home. The investigation began after police received an anonymous tip of a marijuana grow operation in November 1999. The tipster described the exterior and interior of the house, including the hydroponics equipment being used. Cst. Daniel Thorne testified during the trial that he drove past the house twice to verify the information provided as best as he could. Thorne discovered through a freedom of information request that the house was using between two and three times the normal amount of electricity for a house its size. Officers were given permission by a justice of the peace in March last year after police presented the tip and electrical records. However, Justice Richard Brooke said the warrant should have been issued by the judge 34

based on the anonymous tip or inadequately investigated electrical records. Brooke said police should determine what factors might have explained the increased power usage. He suggested police also could have related Pare and Sterling’s electrical usage history with previous occupants for a better comparison. Officers no doubt believes a marijuana grow operation was present in the home and they acted in good faith executing the warrant, he said. “Nevertheless, it was an unlawful intrusion into their house,” Brooke was quoted as saying. Blue Line Magazine

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Memorial tattoo canceled A police tattoo which was to be held in May in an effort to raise funds for the Ontario Police Memorial had to be cancelled just days prior to the event due to poor ticket sales. “Police services from across Ontario provided their full support with the planning of this function to ensure its success,” a news release from the Ontario Police Memorial Foundation said. The foundation is the charity formed to manage and promote the Ontario Police Memorial, which was built near Queen’s Park in Toronto last year.

June/July June/July2001 2001

The memorial honours police officers who have been killed or died in the line of duty. The foundation’s main fund-raiser for the year 2001 was to be the hosting of police mass bands and choir tattoo in the name of the memorial. Everyone who purchased tickets to the event was to receive a full refund from Ticketmaster. A ceremony dedicated to the province’s fallen officers, set for the following day, was not effected by the cancellation of the memorial tattoo.

Blue Line Magazine

Lessons from Hollywood

How to film an action/adventure movie passe. They should hold the gun sideways, just like Steven Seagal (showing off his highly secretive As part of my ongoing quest tactical team training), or grip their to fashion a career out of firearms shooting-hand wrist with their training without actually having to other hand like Pierce Brosnan. go out and get a real job, I often Don’t be too concerned if work as a safety consultant to the your hero’s semi-automatic pisfilm industry. In addition to worktol locks its slide open after only ing with interesting actors and crew, one shot. Although this could I help set up scenes involving fireprove to be a major problem in arms in such a way that no one the ensuing gunfight, there are algets hurt. ways the invisible slide fairies Although I may have final say around to magically cycle the into the safety of these scenes, I slide forward an instant later. I can get little input into the various arsure think of a few pistol competistic decisions that make up a typititions where that would have cal Hollywood movie. It is therecome in very handy. fore with considerable amusement Any action movie has to inthat I observe the liberties that clude at least a few guns equipped writers and directors take with techwith laser sights. It’s a good thing nical accuracy. Some days I feel like EXPLOSIVE: Patrick Muldoon and C. Thomas Howell run from a that movie characters constantly wearing a paper bag over my head burning building in the thrilling action movie “The Crimson Code”. scan their chest for the tell-tale or changing my name to Alan dots. The hero, of course, has an Smithee, the fictional Hollywood director whose (called Foley artists) add in tire screeches even even greater ability to sense the presence of a name appears in the credits when the real direc- on snow or gravel, so much the better. laser beam on the back of his head. I guess that’s tors wish to disassociate themselves from the In car chase scenes, the more hubcaps that what makes him the hero. Besides, if the hero final production. fly off the hero’s car, the better the chase. If the can’t peacefully surrender, how is the villain When it comes to police procedures in typi- bad guys do succeed in getting too close, a well- supposed to fill him in on all the plot gaps? cal action/adventure movies, it becomes even placed shot to a tire should send them flipping Guns have to make cool sounds, and the more comical. If there is a school for Holly- end over end in a fireball of destruction. more sounds you can dub in, the better. Rewood directors to teach them how real police Be sure, however, that they subsequently member that a hammer must be cocked back, or officers behave, it must be run by Larry, Curly climb out unscathed. We wouldn’t want to pro- a slide racked before anyone can be shot, so and Moe. don’t let little details, like that the ubiquitous mote mindless violence, after all. So forget the high-priced film schools. If Glock pistol doesn’t actually have a hammer, any Blue Line readers are thinking of a second prevent you from adding to the drama of a scene. Guns career as a movie director, here is a quick synFor the ultimate, use the “Speed 2” techIn addition to teaching a nation of young opsis of everything you need to know on how people that car chases are fun and harmless, it nique of dubbing in the sound of a pump action to film an authentic action movie. is also important to condition them about guns. shotgun over the sight of a semi-automatic beThey can’t be real dangerous when bad guys ing fired. Boat loads of laughs. Car Chases never seem to hit their target, and good guys The number one most important rule with never miss. No innocent bystanders ever go Bullets movie cars is that they must screech their tires down in the hail of typical Hollywood bullets. Movie bullets have the unique ability to when departing a scene. You may, in fact, find This illustrates how only bad people get shot. bounce off cardboard boxes and wooden door this increasingly difficult with modern vehicles One reason that bad guys can’t seem to frames, so that your hero can always take cover and traction control, but you can always dub in shoot straight is that they insist on using that behind two sheets of drywall and a coat of paint. the sound later. If your sound effects experts old two-handed shooting grip when it is so It’s common knowledge that if he can’t see you, by Dave Brown

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June/July 2001

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he can’t hit you. If a bullet does strike anywhere within lensrange, it must ricochet off with a bright spark, regardless of the composition of the surface. The concept of non-ferrous metals such as copper and lead not actually being able to leave a spark shouldn’t bother you. Make your bullets spark off wooden surfaces for even more credibility. If a bullet does not ricochet off a surface, it immediately disappears into thin air. Ever notice how a bullet will shatter a window, but never make it through to strike anyone on the other side? After all, if you are filming “Mission Impossible 2,” when Tom Cruise has his motorcycle windshield shatter into tiny fragments right in front of him, you can’t let that slow down the chase. Perhaps this would make a good “X-Files” episode - what happens to these bullets? Do they end up in some parallel universe where the inhabitants are constantly ducking the sudden appearance of flying chunks of lead out of the sky?

Bombs There must be a school for bomb-making terrorists somewhere that teaches how to make the most ingenious, diabolical, sophisticated devices of all time, and then ensures that students always colour-code the wiring. It must also teach that, if you are going to make a bomb, be sure to include a convenient digital countdown timer with really big numbers.

“It’s c-s ... Oh, never mind. Let’s just go for coffee.” “We have a team working on that right now, chief!”

Living in Oblivion? Do Hollywood directors film police action scenes without any kind of a clue, or are they just copying everyone else under the assumption that they saw it on TV so it must be true? This is much like the small town radio station disc jockey who meticulously checks his watch against the big clock on the top of city hall on his way in to work every morning. He never does find out that the city clerk sets the time on the town clock to the subsequent announcement on the radio station. The answer lies in the fact that writers and directors realized a long time ago that they are in the entertainment industry. The reality of everyday life would not fill too many theater seats. So what if the story is as real as the butter in theater popcorn? Where else can you sit with 200 strangers and be magically transported to a world where good triumphs over evil, the villain always gets it in the end and no one walks away with time served and six months of community service? Dave Brown is Blue Line Magazine’s Tactical Firearms Editor. You can reach him at Firearms@BlueLine.ca.

The Maverick Cop Every department must have one tough, outrageous officer who plays just outside of the rules and is berated constantly by his superior, who in turn is always being harassed by the chief, or the mayor. That maverick cop is usually named something succinct like “Harry,” or “The Cobra.” When normal police procedures are not going to work (which is apparently just about every single day in movieland), they call in the one tough cop. He always works alone, of course, because he goes through partners faster than a politician goes through excuses. He bulldozes his way through the front door and then shoots up all the bad guys while conveniently missing every one of the hostages. Even the bad guys giving up on running away. The highly trained police swat team just stands around and stares in amazement at this creativity. “Gee, we never would have thought of that!” Afterwards, his boss has to yell at him for wreaking havoc, but privately thank him for solving such a difficult problem when everyone else in the agency apparently can’t even pick out a decent place to go for coffee. This would never work in a real agency, of course. “Oh, this is terrible. We can’t solve thisproblem! Better send for Rudnulickelow!” “Sorry, Boss. He’s on days-off.” Okay, how about Slasinitowich?” “He’s in court.” “Well, we’ll just have to use Cszernyb.” “Uh ... can you spell that for me?” June/July June/July2001 2001

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“Reasonable” to whom? by Gino Arcaro Much of the criminal justice system is predicated on the word “reasonable.” It is a simple word that means “rational, sensible, and fair.” Despite the simplicity of the definition, there is a degree of vagueness associated with “reasonable.” The Supreme Court of Canada, in R.v. Collins (1987), established the “reasonable person test” as a guideline for judges to help them determine the admissibility of evidence under sec. 24(2) Charter. The test involves the perception and opinion of an average Canadian person within a reasonable Canadian community. Consequently, when a judge decides whether to admit or exclude evidence, he or she must answer the following question. “Would the reputation of the administration of justice suffer in the opinion of a reasonable Canadian person if evidence is admitted, despite the commission of a Charter violation that preceded the obtaining of the evidence?” Essentially, a judge must make conclusions on behalf of reasonable citizens. Theoretically and conceptually, this guideline has merit. Yet, after reading some case law decisions, one has to wonder if these judgements are “reasonable.” Are they reasonable to the average Canadian citizen? Or, are they reasonable to a person who holds a law degree? The following case is the first of recent cases that leave one asking whether reasonableness is used to make decisions. If thousands of citizens could be surveyed, would they question the reputation of the administration of justice, or not? Keep this question in mind as you continue to read.

The Case In 1996, the home of Paul Beeston, then president of the Toronto Blue Jays, was broken into. A World Series Championship ring was stolen. Parliament considers this type of offence to be serious and have attached a maximum sentence of life imprisonment as a penalty for this offence. A few months after the break-in, an inform-

ant told a police officer that he/she saw the ring in a person’s house. The officer obtained a search warrant and executed it at 2:30 a.m. The ring was found along with a quantity of drugs, three handguns and ammunition. The accused was charged with a variety of offences. A trial judge convicted the offender and sentenced him to 38 months. Pretty good police work. However, the accused appealed to the Ontario Court of Appeal. The validity of the search warrant was the issue. The circumstances were as follows: • A confidential informant, with whom the officer had had no previous dealings, told the officer that the accused was seen wearing the stolen ring. • The officer investigated the matter and a records check confirmed the break and enter. A CPIC check revealed two people with the same name as the suspect. Both had criminal records. In the information to obtain, the wrong criminal record a more serious one was included. • On a later date, the same informant phoned the officer and reported that he/she saw the ring inside the suspect’s residence at 11:25 p.m. • The officer prepared an information to obtain and described the informant as a “proven reliable informant.” The ring was mistakenly described as an “All Star Series” ring instead of a “World Series” ring. The officer neglected to include the informant’s criminal record. • A J.P. issued a search warrant which was executed at 2:30 a.m. The Ontario Court of appeal ruled that the trial judge made several errors. • The untested informant should not have been described as “reliable.” The absence of the informant’s criminal record showed a

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“pattern of laxity that pervaded the process leading to the issue of this warrant.” The court noted that the criminal record indicated that the informant may have vindictively exposed the accused in a police investigation. • The Ontario C.A. stated that, “The familiar words ‘proven reliable informant’ were probably inserted because they were jargon – words that a Justice of the Peace is accustomed to seeing.” • The court described the deficiencies as a “syndrome of lassitude”, “the product of a casual attitude” and “a failure to be attentive to the public responsibility associated with ex parte permission to enter a dwelling,” particularly at 2:30 a.m. • The court added more scathing comments; “…the overall appearance is that truly important police work lay elsewhere. The suggestion is that warrants can be obtained by going through the motions with the thought that if nothing is found, there will be no scrutiny of the process and if evidence is found, it will be non-conscriptive and will be admitted under sec. 24(2) Charter.” • An additional issue disturbed the Ontario Court of Appeal – the fact that the search warrant was executed at night. Section 488 C.C. formerly read, “A warrant issued under sec. 487 or sec. 487.1 shall be executed by day unless the justice, by the warrant, authorizes execution of it by night.” That section has been amended to read, “A warrant issued under sec. 487 or 487.1 shall be executed by day unless: the justice is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for it to be executed by night, the reasonable grounds are included in the information, and the warrant authorizes that it be executed at night.” The J.P. authorized a search between 2:00 – 5:00 a.m. without any written justification on

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the information to obtain to support the authorization of a night search. The trial judge ruled that the absence of supporting written reasons on the information to obtain did not constitute a sec. 8 Charter violation. The Ontario Court of Appeal differed. It ruled that a failure to satisfy sec. 488(b) C.C. did constitute a sec. 8 Charter violation. The inference, that there were reasonable grounds that the opportunity to seize the stolen property would be lost if the search had been delayed until the morning, was rejected. The combination of errors resulted in exclusion of evidence under sec. 24(2) Charter. The appeal was allowed and the accused was acquitted.

Quotes From The Ontario C.A. And Commentary • “A search of a dwelling house must be approached with the degree of responsibility appropriate to an invasion of a place where the highest degree of privacy is expected.” Agreed. But, the word “invasion” sets the tone for what I believe is the unreasonableness of the rest of the judgement. • “The provision for a night search of a home is meant to be invoked in exceptional circumstances and not, as here, to be used casually to justify invasion of a home whose occupants can be expected to be in bed asleep – all to find watches worth $3,000.00 and some commemorative rings which would in all likelihood have remained there until morning.” I don’t think the complainant considered his

property to be merely “some commemorative rings.” Most reasonable citizens would consider Mr. Beeston’s World Series ring to be a priceless symbol of a monumental achievement. • “This ring had been in the possession of the appellant for two months. The obvious and only reasonable approach was for the officer to obtain the warrant and greet the appellant at his apartment door in the morning.” Let me get this straight. The accused had possession of stolen property. The officer was expected to allow him to continue the offence and keep the stolen property until morning for the greeting to occur. • “The mere presence of police officers at one’s home in the middle of the night, for whatever reason, is a frightening event.” What I think is a frightening event is the mere presence of a criminal breaking into a citizen’s home to steal hard-earned property. Since when is the mere presence of a police to recover stolen property a frightening event? • “Serious offences were revealed by the evidence seized on the search, involving sizeable quantities of drugs and weapons. Without that evidence, there can be no convictions, and the public interest in conviction for crimes is therefore not served by its exclusion. Nor would including the evidence affect the fairness of the trial. In fact, it was conceded that the evidence seized was nonconscriptive and thus does not affect the fairness of the trial. Nonetheless, I am satisfied that the administration of justice would be

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June/July June/July2001 2001

brought into disrepute by the admission of the evidence.” This is shocking and bizarre. A court acknowledges that the public would be interested in convictions for having “sizeable” quantities of weapons and that admitting the evidence would not be unfair. Yet, the severity of the offence and the public interest were completely disregarded. How would the admission of “sizeable quantities of weapons” cause the reputation of the criminal justice system to suffer in the eyes of reasonable Canadian citizens? • The officer was found to be “flagrantly careless and showed no appreciation for the significance of an intrusion upon the privacy of a home.” Let’s assume the information to obtain was written carelessly. How exactly does careless writing cancel out the fact that the stolen property was actually found in the house? How does it cancel the fact that the accused did commit serious offences? The Ont. C.A decision is an outrage. The victim of the crime was never mentioned. The fact that a citizen’s home was invaded by criminals was totally ignored because the criminal’s home was searched in the middle of the night. Yes, the information to obtain should have been written with greater care. But, would reasonable Canadian citizens advocate an acquittal as a remedy? In my opinion, if hundreds or thousands of reasonable citizens were surveyed about this decision and the accompanying reasons, the majority would be shocked that the interests of the criminal superceded those of the victim.

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Blue Line’s Classified advertisements are a free service to law enforcement agencies and related personnel support groups. Other persons or organizations may place their notices in this section at a price of $50 per insertion up to 25 words. Pre-payment by Visa, MasterCard or Cheque only please. Send information and pre-payment to: 12A-4981 Hwy. 7 East, Ste. 254, Markham, ON. L3R 1N1 or Fax (800) 563-1792 or E-mail to bluelinesales@home.com

Up-Coming Events June 17 - 20, 2001 50th Annual Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police Conference Peel Region - Ontario The annual conference will be hosted by the Peel Regional Police. Contact Det. Sgt. Norman English at (905) 453-2121, ext. 4813. June 25 - 29, 2001 19th Annual Advanced Homicide Investigators Seminar Toronto - Ontario This seminar is hosted by the Toronto Police Service’s homicide squad. For information call (416) 808-7400. July 2 - 6, 2001 The Canadian Identification Society. 24th Annual Training Conference Ottawa - Ontario This conference will feature a forensic identification technician education program in addition to a management education program for supervisors and unit commanders.

Contact Holly Raymond at (613) 236-1222, ext. 5964. July 6 - 8, 2001 19th Annual Denis Williams Charity Slo-Pitch Tournament Hamilton - Ontario This tournament, hosted by the Hamilton Police Association, is open to all members of emergency services, corrections and affiliated agencies and their spouses. Contact Joanne Engelhardt at (905) 574-6044. August 19 - 22, 2001 Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police Conference This annual conference will be cohosted by the Saskatoon Police Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. For information call toll-free (877) 518-CACP. . August 27 - 31, 2001 Anthropological / Forensic Short Course Stouffville - Ontario The York Regional Police are hosting this course which will feature

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June/July 2001

excavation of shallow graves, the collection of entomological samples, burnt human remains and a number of lectures. Class size is limited. For information contact Staff Sgt. Greg Olson at (905) 8300303, ext. 7400. September 1, 2001 Patch Collectors Show Calgary - Alberta Hosted by the Canadian Police Insignia Collectors Association. For information contact Colin Mills at (403) 938-6110. September 5 - 9, 2001 22nd North American Police Soccer Championships Toronto - Ontario Police teams are invited to participate in this tournament. Recreational and competitive teams welcome. Contact Det. Tracey Cook at (416) 808-7319.

September 13 - 16, 2001 9th Annual International Police Diver Symposium Hamilton - Ontario This symposium offers a variety of seminar, demonstrations, exhibits and pool exercises. Some of the world’s leading underwater search units will be participating. Contact Rick Rozoski at (905) 574-6817. September 17, 2001 Characteristics Of Armed Persons Oakville - Ontario Members for the Provincial Weapons Enforcement Unit will lecture on those characteristics common to persons concealing weapons. Learn how to protect yourself. This seminar may possibly be restricted to police officers only. Contact Chris Collins of the Southern Ontario Law Enforcement Training Association at (905) 335-9056.

September 9 - 12, 2001 Western Canada Use Of Force Conference Calgary - Alberta This conference features leading trainers from Canada and the United States presenting material dealing with the use of force. This event includes a limited enrolment full day firearms component, interactive physical skills training sessions and vendor displays. Contact Cst. Phil Haggart at (403) 216-5376.

September 17 - 21, 2001 Tactical Rope Access and Rescue Workshop Ottawa - Ontario MultiTrek Ltd and the Ottawa police tactical unit will be hosting this five-day instructor level training program in rope use for special intervention units. For further details contact Michel Goulet at (800) 263-5232.

September 10-12, 2001 Police Leadership Forum Montreal - Quebec For Leadership Award nominations contact Sgt. Bleecker at (613) 384-2400. For conference information contact Cst. Serge Desjarlail (514) 939-8400. ext. 3291.

September 22 - 27, 2001 39th Annual IAWP Training Conference Edmonton - Alberta The Edmonton Police Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will co-host this event. Contact Sgt. Joan Ashmore at (780) 421-2001.

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Manitoba hires 60 more Mounties Manitoba is spending an extra $2.8 million in an effort to hire an additional 60 RCMP officers. Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh announced the expenditure in April and added it will bring the government’s annual budget for the RCMP to almost $60 million. The new funding will put the force at full strength with 622 police officers. Detachments with only one or two Mounties will receive an additional officer, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Tom Egglestone said. However, he added that a study found the force will need additional officers - an approximate 10 per cent increase in manpower was suggested. Mackintosh said the NDP government has not ruled out future funding increases. Federal Justice Minister Anne McLellan also announced with Mackintosh that $500,000 will be provided for seven provincial crime prevention programs. “Being tough on crime is not enough on its own. You can keep putting people in jail, but it’s not going to solve your problem,” McLellan was quoted as saying. She said a better solution would be to provide appropriate funding to community groups working to prevent crime in the first place, particularly those working to help children and combat family violence and drug abuse.

Shelter use increases More women and children used shelters to escape abuse in 1999-2000, according to a federal survey. Of the 508 shelters Statistics Canada surveyed, 92 per cent responded. The numbers indicate that 96,000 women and children used shelters, an increase of 6,000 from the year before. The survey showed that eight out of 10 women and 9 out of 10 children were in shelters to escape threats or actual physical, sexual and psychological abuse. The remainder used shelters for others reasons, such as housing problems. A total of 85 per cent of the women across Canada sought shelter from an individual whom they had an intimate relationship with. Abuse by a spouse or common-law partner occurred in two-thirds of the cases. About 55 per cent of all women admitted to shelters came with children. Women between the ages of 25 and 34 were most likely to use shelters, Statistics Canada reported. The survey also showed that some facilities could not accommodate all women in need of shelter because they were full. On one day alone, 500 women and children had to be refused. The agency reported that 17 shelters admitted adult men to their facilities. Of those, 13 admitted a total of 258 men, however it was not known how many were in shelters as a result of abuse. About 69 per cent of the 13 shelters served native reserves, which are more likely to admit men because they serve entire families, Statistics Canada said. June/July June/July2001 2001

Blue Line Magazine

Summit officers praised by security minister

June/July 2001

Menard defended the use of the 3.8 kilometre fence which upset many protestors and activists. “Our success shows the necessity of the wall and the perimeter,” he was quoted as saying. “If there hadn’t been one, the groups that attacked there would have attacked somewhere else, probably at the doors of the convention hall or the hotels.” He added that police acted properly, patiently, and precisely when they had to intervene. Menard addressed the complaints of many arrested protestors and admitted that the lack of a jail was the weakest point of the operation. Security was inadequately prepared to handle the large number of people arrested at the summit and many were required to sit in buses and other vehicles for hours before being transferred to a cell. He said his observers told him jail staff were helpful and did their best under the difficult circumstances. RCMP Staff Sgt. Mike Gaudet said that despite the clash between police and some AT THE READY: Officers in riot gear prepare violent protestors, most people were at the to deal with protesters at the Quebec summit. summit simply to exercise their democratic Gaudet was quoted as saying. “The police suprights. “I think the large majority had a message to port that right... regrettably, there are a number convey and they’ve done so in a peaceful way,” of people who came with another agenda.” Photo: Harry De Jong

Quebec police officers received praise from the prime minister and the province’s public security minister for using restraint and successfully accomplishing their objectives during the Summit of the Americas. “The security of the delegates, the security of peaceful (protesters) and the security of citizens and their goods was a success,” Quebec Public Security Minister Serge Menard was quoted as saying. “There has been very little rampage and no report of police brutality.” Menard said Quebec should be proud for how police handled the summit in April and for acting professionally throughout the three-day long summit. Prime Minister Jean Chretien also praised the police officers. “I would like to congratulate our law enforcement for having conducted themselves in an exemplary manner,” Chretien was quoted as saying during the post-summit press conference. “All of the heads of state here remarked on it to me.” Menard said the success of the summit was due to intense preparations and consultations from police forces around the world. Protestors attempting to break down large perimeter fences were met by police officers in full riot gear standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Officers responded to violent protestors with tear gas after being struck by pieces of concrete.

Blue Line Magazine

A successful Response 2001 From firearms to flashlights, and pens view and acquire some valuable products. to laptops, Response 2001 had it all. “The show is terrific,” he said. “It’s Blue Line Magazine’s, fifth annual law very interesting. “ enforcement trade show and exhibition, We saw a lot of products that will took place on April 24 and 25 at the Le help us do our job more effectively. We Parc Conference Centre in Markham, Ont. also made a few purchases.” During those two days more than 700 poJoe Martindale, a sales representative lice service members, security officers and with M.D. Charlton Co. Ltd., said he was other law enforcement officials had the pleased with the turnout at the show and opportunity to view, test and buy thouwelcomed the opportunity to make consands of products and services on distact with so many people in the law enplay. forcement field. “We are very pleased with the turn“I think the fact that we’ve already out this year,” said Tricia Rudy, a Resigned up to attend next year’s show is a sponse 2001 coordinator. “Everyone testament to how valuable it is to our orwe’ve talked to has had a lot of positive ganization,” Martindale said. “A comcomments about the trade show, which pany like ours - which sells an array of clearly indicates how important and benequipment to Canadian law enforcement eficial this annual event is to the law enagencies and security companies - we’ve forcement community.” got something for everybody, so we’re Steve Phillips, a Peel Regional Police IT’S ALL TECHNIQUE: Exhibitors with Rapid Rota- always very busy at the show.” constable, said he was impressed with the tion Baton Canada display their product at the show. Craig Smyth, the supervising pronumber of exhibitors and the array of supducer for the Toronto Police Service’s plies and services they offered. Video Services Unit and LiveLink Train“This is a terrific venue,” Philips said. “I “The show has always had a very diversi- ing Network, echoed Martindale’s statements. think it’s a great opportunity for police to see fied group of exhibitors,” Rudy explains. “That’s “I’m really happy with the show,” Smyth the latest equipment and technology.” part of what has attracted so many law en- said. “We’ve made some sales and have made a In fact, Response 2001 hosted more than forcement authorities to this venue over the past lot of contacts with authorities in a variety of 60 exhibitors who displayed mobile robots, cam- five years.” police services.” eras, uniforms, biohazard cleaning services, In addition to the trade show, Response Eric Assel of Knights On Guard, an Onouterwear, tactical gear, laptops, computer soft- tario security firm, said Response 2001 pro- 2001 hosted two seminars and an “Emerging ware and more. vided his organization with an opportunity to Technologies” display. The seminars, Investigative Interviewing Techniques and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing, were two-day courses instructed by Peel Regional Police Det. Sgt. Gord MacKinnon and CIS expert Murray Firth respectively. More than 60 law enforcement authorities attended the seminars, which were deemed to be a great success by those who participated. The “Emerging Technologies” display, which is coordinated by the Canadian Police Research Centre, was reserved for companies wishing to exhibit innovative products and technology which could some day be used by the law enforcement community. “The Canadian Police Research Centre is always very pleased to be a part of the Response trade show,” said John Arnold CPRC’s chief scientist. “We have received a lot of positive feedback from officers in the past and we always welcome the opportunity to allow the law enforcement community to share their thoughts with us regarding technology which is being developed for their use.” With Response 2001 at a close, coordinators are already preparing for next year’s trade show and conference. “We’re always looking ahead,” said Rudy. “We’re dedicated to providing the best show possible for our vendors to display their products and services and for members of the law enforcement community to view them. “As a result, the show has received a tremendous amount of positive feedback during the last five years. It will be our pleasure to ensure that it continues to grow and receive support from all stakeholders involved.” June/July 2001

Blue Line Magazine

The right to protest Rights seem to be on the front burner these days and almost every human need or desire demands to be filtered through the prism of “rights.” What are rights? What should they be? Learned persons, up to and including supreme court justices, never seem to tire of lecturing the rest of us great unwashed on the subject. Their version does not necessarily carry any more weight than anyone else’s. The tragedy is that rights, like so many other aspects of our social existence, have been hopelessly politicised. Lawyer Karen Selick of Belleville, Ont. wrote in the National Post a year ago: “The Charter, the courts and the legislatures have distorted and perverted the meaning of the word ‘rights’ beyond all recognition. In doing so, as George Orwell predicted when he invented the mythical “Newspeak,” they have destroyed both the old concept of genuine rights and the actual existence in practice, of those genuine rights.” Along the way, merely to question “rights” in Canada as our political elite presently interpret them is to be scorned and the doubters are demeaned as narrow bigots. But if rights cannot withstand the heat of criticism, what kind of rights are they? And what about the right merely to make a critical appraisal? When a chorus of official outrage howls down a pointed critique, how far are we away from Big Brother? The issue of rights was very much to the fore recently during the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City. Massed protestors represented the trendy left. Nobody seemed willing to draw the line between legitimate dissent and out and out hooliganism. The police were dumped firmly into the “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” predicament they have come to know so well, if not to loathe. To their credit, they acted with admirable restraint. From all one learned in the ensuing days, criticism of the police, such as it was, was ill founded and hollow indeed. The right to dissent was certainly exercised to its full in Quebec City. Political extremists, with hardly anywhere respectable to hang their hats any more, mixed with moderates genuinely concerned with the globalization of commerce and industry. Some of it got downright nasty and it was clear, from the riot fatigues worn and the weapons carried by so many (but not all) of the demonstrators, that the bulk of them arrived with peaceful demonstration just about the last thing on their minds. The demonstrators also arrived with the certainty that the news gathering media from the world over would be electronically beaming their outraged protests into a million TV households and onto as many front pages around the world. Advertising like that you couldn’t buy anywhere, at any price. Did they achieve their goal? It’s hard to deny. Was the overwhelming presence of the meJune/July 2001

Photo: Harry De Jong

by Robert Stevens

PROTESTING: At the Quebec summit. dia a catalyst to the violence that followed it everywhere? I would have to say yes. Why couldn’t the media refuse to broadcast, photograph, or write about the dangerous shenanigans perpetrated by the protesters? One reason was clear. If one media group agreed to pull back and not show violent confrontation between police and demonstrators, would others follow? Obviously a rhetorical question. The competition was far too hot for anyone to contain. List Accident Support Services Beretta BMW Motorcycles Brycan Canadian Body Armour CALEA Cesaroni Technology Constable Cigar Company CVDS Dalhousie University Denton Technologies Detect Investigations Emergency Vehicle Restorations FATS Federal Signal Flex-O-Lite Ltd Ford Canada Gander Brands Glock Inc Gordon Contract Footwear Hartt Boot & Shoe Co. Henry’s Hi-Tec Intervention Hi-Tec Sports i2 46

The media was on a feeding frenzy to collect the most coverage first. Reporters strained to be the first to get out their story, each with a load of electronic gadgetry that would have amazed and astounded their predecessors of just a few decades ago. The question begs, the high tech may be higher, but is the story any better for it? Likely not. I can remember patrolling strike sites decades ago (whoops, there’s a giveaway) with the strikers quiet and peaceful as lambs until the arrival of the TV crews. Then, as the cameras ground away, all mayhem broke loose, with shouting, pushing and shoving in an outbreak of “spontaneous protest”. After a time (enough for news at 11) the cameras shut down and went away. It was an instant return to Sleepy Hollow. The strikers were docile again. After all, why waste energy if the world isn’t watching? As the late Marshall McLuhan so aptly put it, “the medium is the message.” He meant the electronic media, especially television, have an impact far greater than that of the material they communicate. Information that may never have reached our parents and grandparents, or reached them days and weeks after the fact, is screaming in our faces instantly as it happens. Then again and again, the same loop of film is shown, ad nauseam, courtesy of the media. So much of the so-called “information” is contrived claptrap, pushed forward by small, well organized groups of zealots with an agenda. Rent-amob in action. These groups know exactly how to fill a TV screen with chaos and noise, to make 20 demonstrators look like 200 or 2,000, and, not infrequently, the media are willing accomplices to this sleight of hand. It is debatable whether the world is a better place for seeing any of it.

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Blue Line Magazine

May 2001 June/July 2001

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